Netmarble's Idle RPG Succeeds: "Stone Age Raising" Ranks 4th Globally in Revenue Growth

200,000 Downloads and $6 Million in Revenue in Just One Month

Netmarble's idle role-playing game (RPG) "Stone Age Raising," released last month, has ranked fourth worldwide in revenue growth. This is a remarkable achievement, following Nexon's "Maple Growing," which ranked second in annual revenue for the same genre last year.

'Stoneage Raising'. Provided by Netmarble

According to Sensor Tower on April 14, "Stone Age Raising" recorded 200,000 downloads and generated $4 million (about 6 billion won) in revenue within about a month of its launch on March 3. It was the only Korean game to rank within the top 10 for revenue growth.

This game is an idle reinterpretation of the intellectual property (IP) "Stone Age," an online RPG released in 1999 and enjoyed by 200 million people worldwide. It inherits the original's nostalgic appeal, featuring a variety of pets—including dinosaurs—as partners, while also providing an intuitive system that makes the game easy for anyone to enjoy. In particular, key features such as "capture" and "mount" have been optimized for the mobile environment. Strategy elements like collection, as well as competitive and cooperative content, further enhance the fun.

Idle RPGs differ from assist modes (such as auto-hunting) that support automation during gameplay, as characters continue to progress even when the game is not running. As more users seek the enjoyment of growth amid busy daily lives, the idle genre has become mainstream. The domestic mobile game market share expanded from 1.7% in 2020 to 16% in 2024. According to market research firm DataIntelo, the global idle game market is also expected to grow at an average annual rate of 10.8%, reaching $6.1 billion (about 900 billion won) by 2033.

Previously, Netmarble's "Seven Knights Raising," launched in September 2023 using the "Seven Knights" IP, earned $4 million within 45 days of release. In addition, Nexon's "Maple Growing," launched in November last year, achieved 3 million downloads and $100 million (about 148.8 billion won) in revenue by the end of the year. Industry experts expect the idle RPG genre to expand further. In response, Com2uS plans to release an idle RPG based on the "Destiny Child" IP within this year. Devsisters is also planning to launch an idle RPG featuring "Mercenary Cookie" as the protagonist, with an underdog theme, in the second half of this year.

An official from a game company commented, "Since we are releasing successful IPs with only a change in genre to fit current trends, a certain level of popularity is guaranteed due to brand recognition." He added, "There is also the advantage of fast development speed by releasing only a casual-style mobile version."

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