— an Analysis of Ips in U.S. Mobile Gaming © 2021 Sensor Tower Inc

Home , Bleach (season 1), Bleach (season 10), Bleach (season 11), Bleach (season 12), Bleach (season 13), Bleach (season 14)

Table of Contents

Introduction

This report analyzes the relevance of Intellectual Property in the U.S. mobile games market, delving into the performance of non-IP games vs. licensed titles, the most successful IP-based games, and IP performance across genres.

Using Sensor Tower’s Game Taxonomy IP classifications, this report contains information on licenses, IP types, operators, and corporate parents.

Inclusion Criteria Sensor Tower’s definition of Intellectual Property covers multi- platform IPs that are licensed to mobile game studios, originating from films, books, television, toys, celebrities, sports, board games, video games, comics, and manga and have dedicated mobile games.

Video game IPs that only have direct mobile ports or are internal to the brand owners themselves have been excluded.

Three IP Games Rank Among the Top 10 by Revenue Top 20 grossing mobile games in 2020 on the U.S. App Store and Google Play

No-IP IP Games Roblox . Candy Crush Saga . During 2020, three out of the top 10 revenue Coin Master . generating mobile games in the United States Pokémon GO . used a license: Pokémon GO, PUBG Mobile, and Gardenscapes . Call of Duty: Mobile. Homescapes . An additional two licensed titles appeared in the Clash of Clans . top 20, Marvel Strike Force and Dragon Ball Z: Slotomania . Dokkan Battle. PUBG Mobile . Call of Duty: Mobile . Pokémon GO remained the most successful Bingo Blitz . licensed mobile game, generating Toon Blast . approximately $480 million in U.S. player Candy Crush Soda Saga . spending in 2020. MARVEL Strike Force . Fishdom . Two out of the top three mobile games Garena Free Fire . utilizing an IP belonged to the Shooter genre. Jackpot Party . DoubleDown . Rise of Kingdoms . DBZ Dokkan Battle .

$0 $100M $200M $300M $400M $500M $600M $700M $800M

IP vs. Non-IP Games: Revenue & Download Growth The top 10 revenue generating games saw Top 10 grossing IP and non-IP games by annual U.S. player spending and download growth similar year-over-year growth of 33.8 percent for both IP and non-IP titles in 2020. Revenue Downloads Installs for the top 10 grossing IP games No-IP IP Games No-IP IP Games increased by 31.1 percent year-over-year in 40% 60% 2020, compared to the 3.9 percent decline in 35% downloads for the top 10 non-IP titles. IP 50% 33.8% 33.8% 50.9% growth was led by Call of Duty: Mobile. 30% 40% 27.6% While 2019 saw the launch of two major IP- 25% based mobile games with Call of Duty: Mobile 23.7% 22.5% 30% 31.1% and Mario Kart Tour, which both broke 100 20% million downloads within their first month,

15% 20% launching in Q3/Q4 meant that they did not rank in the top 10 by revenue that year. 10% 10% IP-based games continued to be launched in 5% 2021, with Crash Bandicoot: On the Run 0% -10.2% -10.7% -6.1% -3.9% generating 23.6 million downloads in its first 0% -5% week. Other licensed titles on the horizon -10% -5% include Diablo Immortal and Apex Legends.

-10% -20% Note Regarding Downloads Growth Chart On both charts the selection criteria is the top 10 games with and 2018 2019 2020 2018 2019 2020 without an IP based on revenue. This approach was taken to avoid the population of Hypercasual titles.

IP Vs. Non-IP Games: Revenue & Download Share Overall market share of IP games in the U.S. in 2020

Revenue No IP Downloads In 2020, 23 percent of overall U.S. mobile IP game player spending was generated by IP- based titles. The market share of IP-based games for downloads was smaller, making up 17 percent of all installs.

17% 23% The overall market share of IP has remained stable for both revenue and downloads over the last two years.

The share of downloads and revenue for mobile games is outsized from the number of IP-based mobile games on the market. While only 9 percent of games used an IP, these games accounted for nearly a quarter of revenue. 77% 83%

One-Third of IP Game Revenue is from Video Game IPs U.S. market share and revenue growth by IP type in 2020

Revenue Revenue Growth Video game IPs accounted for a third of the Videogame Manga U.S. revenue generated by licensed mobile Television 60% games in 2020, more than double the share Comics Other from any other IP type.

50% While Manga ranks as the No. 2 IP type by player spending, it is the fastest-growing for revenue Other Videogame growth, increasing by 54 percent year-over-year 31% 40% 34% in 2020.

30% Although IP may stem from mediums such as 54% Comics, which accounted for 10 percent of 44% revenue in 2020, licenses such as Marvel are also 20% 36% popular across platforms such as TV and Film. Comics 29% 10% Manga 24% 10% Television 13% 12%

0% Manga Comics Videogame Other Television

Share of U.S. Revenue by IP Type and Game U.S. market share by IP type and game in 2020 Video Game IPs from non-mobile platforms, such as Pokémon GO, PUBG Mobile, and Call of Duty: Mobile, have successfully translated their core experiences to mobile, in turn generating Game of Dragon Ball The Seven Fate/ Star Trek: Fleet Thrones Slots significant revenue. Command 1% Z Dokkan Deadly Sins Grand Battle 3% Order 4% Property Brothers Home 4% 2% Design 1% Manga is dominated by Japanese IPs like Dragon Ball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and The Seven Deadly Sins, Game of Thrones: GSN Casino Conquest 1% Dragon Yu-Gi-Oh! which are popular with U.S. audiences. Ball Duel Links 4% Walking Wheel of 1% Dead: Road Fortune Legends to Survival 0.4% 1% 0.5%0.5%0.5%0.5% 2% 0.5% The Marvel IP accounts for the vast majority of PUBG Mobile Call of Duty: player spending in Comics-based mobile games 7% Mobile WWE 6% MLB Tap Champions MARVEL Strike MARVEL World Series of 2021 Sports 1% Force Contest of Poker Baseball 5% Champions 3% 2% Television licenses accounted for 12 percent of 4% My Madden NFL Madden MLB 9 player spending, double that of Film. Caesars Mobile NFL 21 Innings KONAMI 1% 1% Casino 1% 1% 2% WWE SuperCard IPs that perceived as the largest do not 1% FIFA Soccer 1% always generate the greatest revenue. Fire Mario SimCity MARVEL Future Fight 1% Emblem Kart Tour BuildIt Heroes 1% 1% Disney Disney Kim 1% Yahtzee Bingo Bash Sorcerer’s Arena Emoji 1% Karda The Wizard Willy with 1% Blitz shian Black Animal Wonka 1% Note Regarding Chart Star Wars: of Oz Magic Slots Buddies 1% Desert Crossing 1% 0.5% Galaxy of Heroes Match 3 2% Please refer to the interactive chart in our blog post for more The Sims Mobile Mono- Phase 1% FreePlay 1% 4% poly 10: detail. Games with less than $12 million in U.S. net revenue in FF Brave Wizard of Slots World 1% The Sims Oz: Casino 1% Tour Exvius 1% 2020 were excluded. Mobile 1% Slots 0.5% 2% Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery 1%

Pokémon GO Leads Video Game IPs on Mobile Top Grossing Games with IPs from Video Games in the U.S.

2018 2019 2020 Video game IPs accounted for 34 percent of the U.S. revenue generated by licensed mobile games in 2020. Pokémon GO Pokémon GO Pokémon GO 1 1 - 1 Niantic - Niantic Niantic Pokémon GO led the Video Game IP type for third year on a row in 2020. Final Fantasy XV PUBG Mobile PUBG Mobile 2 2 +4 2 - Epic Action Tencent Tencent After a successful global launch in 2019, Activision title Call of Duty: Mobile moved up Fire Emblem Call of Duty: two positions to rank No. 3 in 2020. Final Fantasy XV 3 Mobile 3 Heroes 3 Epic Action -1 +2 Nintendo Activision Blizzard

Minecraf Minecraf Minecraf - 4 - 4 Microsof 4 Microsof Microsof

Call of Duty: Final Fantasy XV PUBG Mobile NEW 5 -2 5 Tencent 5 Mobile Epic Action Activision Blizzard Note Regarding Chart The +/- next to the game names reflect the change in rankings from one year to the next. “NEW” means that a game is new to the top five rankings in the given year.

Dragon Ball Z is Consistently the Top Manga Game IP Top Grossing Games with IPs from Manga in the U.S.

2018 2019 2020 Manga IPs accounted for 13 percent of the U.S. revenue generated by licensed mobile games in 2020. Dragon Ball Z Dragon Ball Z Dragon Ball Z 1 Dokkan Battle 1 Dokkan Battle - 1 Dokkan Battle - Bandai Namco Bandai Namco Bandai Namco This type is dominated by Japanese IPs that are popular among U.S. audiences, such as The The Seven Fate/Grand Order Fate/Grand Order Seven Deadly Sins and Yu-Gi-Oh! Dragon Ball Z - 2 NEW 2 Aniplex 2 Aniplex Deadly Sins Netmarble stands out with two games among the top five.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Dragon Ball Legends 3 Fate/Grand Order 3 Duel Links 3 +1 Aniplex -1 Konami Bandai Namco

Dragon Ball Yu-Gi-Oh! Dragon Ball 4 Legends 4 Duel Links -1 4 Legends -1 Bandai Namco Konami Bandai Namco

Bleach Brave Bleach Brave Yu-Gi-Oh! 5 Souls 5 Souls - 5 Duel Links -1 KLab KLab Konami Note Regarding Chart The +/- next to the game names reflect the change in rankings from one year to the next. “NEW” means that a game is new to the top five rankings in the given year.

Star Trek Took the Top Spot After Game of Thrones Finale Top Grossing Games with IPs from Television in the U.S. Television IPs accounted for 12 percent of the U.S. revenue generated by licensed mobile games in 2020. 2018 2019 2020 After the Game of Thrones finale in 2019, Star Trek Fleet Command became the biggest Game of Thrones: Game of Thrones: Star Trek Fleet 1 Conquest 1 Conquest - 1 Command +1 licensed game in the U.S. in 2020. Warner Bros Warner Bros Scopely Scopely stands out as a publisher and operates a Walking Dead: Star Trek Fleet Game of Thrones: very diversified portfolio of IPs: Marvel, Wheel of 2 Road to Survival 2 Command NEW 2 Conquest -1 Scopely Scopely Warner Bros Fortune, Walking Dead, and Star Trek.

Walking Dead: Game of Thrones Some companies license their IPs to game GSN Casino 3 Slots 3 Game Show Network 3 Road to Survival -1 +2 publishers with more experience in a specific Scopely Zynga domain. For example, Warner Media licensed the Property Brothers Game of Thrones IP to Zynga, who has had Wheel of Fortune GSN Casino -1 4 Home Design NEW 4 Scopely 4 Game Show Network previous success publishing slots mobile games. Storm8

Star Trek Game of Thrones GSN Casino 5 Timelines 5 Slots NEW 5 Game Show Network -1 Tilting Point Zynga Note Regarding Chart The +/- next to the game names reflect the change in rankings from one year to the next. “NEW” means that a game is new to the top five rankings in the given year.

Marvel Dominates the Comics IP Type in the U.S. Top Grossing Games with IPs from Comics in the U.S.

2018 2019 2020 Comic IPs accounted for 10 percent of the U.S. revenue generated by licensed mobile games in 2020. Marvel Contest of Marvel Contest of Marvel Strike 1 Champions 1 Champions - 1 Force +1 Kabam Kabam Scopely Four of the top five games rely on the Marvel IP. Nevertheless, it’s worth mentioning that Marvel Marvel Strike Marvel Strike Marvel Contest of has licensed its IPs to different publishers: 2 Force 2 Force - 2 Champions -1 Scopely Scopely Kabam Scopely, Kabam, Netmarble, and D3 Go.

Marvel Future Marvel Future Marvel Future 3 Fight 3 Fight - 3 Fight - Netmarble Netmarble Netmarble

Marvel Puzzle Marvel Puzzle Marvel Puzzle 4 Quest 4 Quest - 4 Quest - D3 Go D3 Go D3 Go

Injustice 2 Injustice 2 - 5 Injustice 2 - 5 Warner Bros 5 Warner Bros Warner Bros Note Regarding Chart The +/- next to the game names reflect the change in rankings from one year to the next. “NEW” means that a game is new to the top five rankings in the given year.

IP is More Popular with Mid-Core Audiences Revenue Share for IP Games by U.S. Revenue Per Genre in 2020

Geolocation AR 99.9% The mobile Geolocation AR genre is comprised Action 64.4% almost entirely of licensed IP, including RPG 47.1% Pokémon GO, Jurassic World Alive, and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Shooter 44.9%

Sports 35.3% Action is an outlier, with 64.4 percent of player revenue coming from licensed IP, led by Marvel Racing 29.6% Contest of Champions and Dragon Ball Legends.

Tabletop 27.4% Outside of Geolocation AR and Action, there Simulation 17.5% were two genres where more than 40 percent of player spending comes from IPs: RPG and Strategy 17.1% Shooter. Arcade 13.1% Genres with the highest percentage of Casino 11.7% revenue from licensed games are typically Lifestyle 7.4% associated with mid-core audiences.

Puzzle 4.9%

Hypercasual 0.3%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

RPG is the Top Genre for IP Games Overall IP Revenue and Top IP Game by Genre in the U.S. during 2020

Top 1 Other IPs The RPG genre ranks No. 1 for IP-based player RPG MARVEL Strike Force spending, generating more than $1.1 billion Strategy Star Trek Fleet Command in 2020.

Casino World Series of Poker Licensed mobile games in the Shooter genre Geolocation AR Pokémon GO generated more than $500 million in 2020. PUBG Mobile accounts for 53 percent of genre revenue Shooter PUBG Mobile from IPs, while Call of Duty: Mobile accounts for Action Marvel Contest of Champions 47 percent.

Simulation Minecraft Simulation games that use licenses generated Sports MLB Tap Sports Baseball more than $300 million in revenue during 2020, including a diverse lineup from Minecraft and Puzzle Disney Emoji Blitz The Sims to Harry Potter and Animal Crossing. Tabletop Yahtzee with Buddies While some genres, such as Geolocation AR, are Racing Mario Kart Tour dominated by one or two IPs, other categories

Lifestyle Kim Kardashian are much more diversified and offer a potential opportunity for newcomers. Arcade Trailer Park Boys Greasy Money

Hypercasual 6ix9ine Runner

$200M $400M $600M $800M $1.0B $1.2B

Action, Shooter, and RPG Show Potential for IP Games Year-over-Year Revenue Growth vs. IP Proportion by Genre in the U.S. during 2020

70% Median IP Revenue Proportion Simulation Size = Revenue 60% Core game genres such as Shooter, RPG and

Action Action had the largest proportion of IP while 50% Casino Tabletop also experiencing the fastest average growth. Arcade Shooter

40% RPG The Puzzle genre is one of the largest categories Median Revenue in the U.S., but only 5 percent of its revenue Lifestyle Racing Growth Revenue Growth Revenue comes from IP titles. 30% Puzzle

Strategy Sports IP accounted for 35 percent of the revenue in the 20% Sports genre.

10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

% of Revenue From IP Titles

Conclusion

● While IP-based games only accounted ● With a shift in the marketing for 9 percent of the U.S. mobile games landscape post-IDFA, popular IPs market, they took an outsized market could become more important in share for revenue and downloads, building awareness and acquiring generating 23 percent of player players. Crash Bandicoot: On the Run spending and 17 of installs in 2020. launched in March 2021, accumulating 23.6 million downloads in its first week. ● Video game IPs accounted for a third of the revenue generated by licensed ● Other licensed titles on the horizon mobile games in 2020. This was include Diablo Immortal, Apex followed by Manga at 13 percent, and Legends, and Battlefield. These Television at 12 percent. However, launches emphasize the current trend some of the top franchises, such as of strong growth seen among Shooter Marvel, extend beyond their original and RPG titles utilizing licensed IP. medium and into other sectors such as TV and film.

● Genres with the highest percentage of revenue from licensed games are associated with mid-core audiences: Action, RPG, and Shooter. Meanwhile, the Puzzle genre is one of the biggest markets in the U.S. but only 5 percent of its revenue comes from IP titles.

Store App Ad Usage App Consumer Intelligence Intelligence Intelligence Intelligence Teardown Intelligence

Make strategic Drive organic growth Develop winning Benchmark app Evaluate which SDKs Access unfiltered decisions with the with the leading App User acquisition usage, engagement, apps are using and mobile user industry’s most Store Optimization campaigns with and demographics. measure SDK engagement for accurate estimates. platform. crucial mobile adoption across financial analysis. advertising insights. market segments.

This report and all original content contained within are wholly owned by Sensor Tower, Inc. © 2021. LOOKING FOR MORE Modification, republication, distribution, or other INSIGHTS? unauthorized usage violate this copyright, unless express Download our latest Store permission has been granted. Intelligence Data Digest report on the mobile market at App icons, images, and other branding assets are property of their respective publishers and are used expressly for the sensortower.com/reports purpose of editorial commentary.

About Us

Sensor Tower is the leading solution for mobile marketers, app developers, and industry analysts who demand competitive insights on the mobile economy. Sensor Tower’s product suite includes: Top Charts, App Intelligence, Store Intelligence, Ad Intelligence, Usage Intelligence, and Consumer Intelligence.

Office Locations: San Francisco, London, Shanghai, Seoul

Contact Info: sensortower.com [email protected] @sensortower

24 25