Kakao's 'Piccoma' Tops Global Manga and Novel App Revenue Rankings

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Kakao announced on the 9th that its manga app 'Piccoma,' which is being serviced in Japan, ranked first in monthly revenue among manga and novel apps worldwide in September.

According to Kakao Japan, based on the September monthly report from global app research firm App Annie, Piccoma generated the highest revenue among manga and novel apps worldwide on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Among non-game apps, it ranked 7th in revenue.

Kakao stated, "This achievement was made four years after Piccoma's entry into Japan," adding, "It is solidifying its position as a leading manga platform not only in Japan but also in the global market."

Piccoma's transaction amount in the third quarter of this year reached approximately 130 billion KRW, a 247% increase compared to the previous year.

The cumulative annual transaction amount rose to 270 billion KRW, a 168% increase from last year.

Piccoma ranked first in non-game app revenue in Japan for the first time in July this year and maintained the top position through September. It also rose to 4th place in revenue rankings among all apps, including games.

The company explained that this trend reflects Japanese manga readers becoming accustomed to the webtoon viewing environment, moving away from traditional consumption of standalone volumes or book units.

In the third quarter of this year, Piccoma's webtoon transaction amount increased by 70.1% compared to the second quarter and by 680% compared to last year.

Kakao reported that the webtoon transaction amount alone in the third quarter was 58 billion KRW, and it is expected that the total webtoon transaction amount for this year will surpass 150 billion KRW.

Kim Jaeyong, CEO of Kakao Japan, said, "Focusing on snack culture content users from the early stages of the service has led to rapid growth," adding, "Starting with Japan, the world's largest manga market, we will develop into a leading global manga platform."

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