'COVID-19 Boom'... 22.7 Trillion Won Spent on Mobile Games

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), global consumers spent $19 billion (22.7 trillion KRW) on mobile games in the second quarter of 2020. This represents a 15% increase compared to the previous quarter, marking an all-time high.

According to mobile data platform App Annie on the 10th, consumers worldwide downloaded game applications (apps) 14 billion times.

The number of mobile game downloads in the first week of the second quarter of 2020 reached 1.2 billion, setting a record high. During the second quarter of 2020, the average weekly mobile game downloads remained at 1 billion, showing a 20% growth compared to the previous year.

On Google Play, India and Brazil recorded the highest number of game app downloads, while on iOS, the United States and China were the top countries for game app downloads this quarter. Saudi Arabia and India showed the greatest growth in download numbers compared to the previous quarter. As consumers sought to spend time during self-quarantine and communicate with family and friends, downloads of casual, action, and board games were the most active.

Looking at the top game app charts in Korea, Nexon's "FIFA Mobile" ranked first in the download ranking chart. "FIFA Mobile" recorded 1.2 million downloads on its release day, June 10. Following were Netmarble's "StoneAge World" and Nexon's "KartRider Rush Plus."

In terms of consumer spending, NCSoft's "Lineage 2M" and "Lineage M" took first and second place respectively. The third place was "AFK Arena" by Lilith Games.

App Annie predicted, "During the social distancing period, mobile game downloads and spending are expected to continue increasing," adding, "Even as self-quarantine restrictions are gradually lifted, the app usage habits already formed by consumers are likely to remain unchanged for the time being."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.