Hotspot Trends for the 3rd Week of July
Microsoft Resigns as OpenAI Observer
"Resident Evil 7: Biohazard" Launches on iOS Platform with Poor Data Performance
"Dusk," a Multiplayer Gaming Social Platform, Secures Funding
South Korean Webtoon App "WEBTOON" Earns $10 Million in 30 Days
"Fingertip Warriors" Generates Over 100 Million in Revenue in the Japanese Market
"Mobile Legends: Bang Bang" Tops the Mobile Game Download Charts
"Heaven Burns Red" Enters Full-Server Public Beta, Igniting a 2D Game Craze
Gaming Social Platform "Pengu" Raises $5 Million in Funding
01. Microsoft Resigns as OpenAI Observer
On July 10th, local time, according to foreign media reports, Microsoft will immediately step down from the OpenAI board and resign from its position as an observer. There is also news that Apple, originally slated to take on the observer role, will no longer assume this position.
The industry generally believes that Microsoft's decision is due to the strengthening of antitrust scrutiny by European and American regulatory authorities over the artificial intelligence market. However, professionals indicate that this move is unlikely to alleviate the concerns of the US antitrust authorities (FTC). This shift in AI oversight by tech giants adds a layer of complexity to current discussions around app advertising and is a notable topic in this week’s Top Gaming Trends.
Source:《X》
02. "Resident Evil 7: Biohazard" Launches on iOS Platform with Poor Data Performance
"Resident Evil 7: Biohazard," a survival horror game produced and published by CAPCOM, was released simultaneously on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 platforms on January 24, 2017. As of June 30, 2023, the game has surpassed 10 million in total sales across all platforms worldwide.
"Resident Evil 7: Biohazard," which achieved great success on other platforms, entered the mobile gaming market on July 2, 2024, but has shown poor performance data.
According to statistics from AppMagic, the "Resident Evil 7" game released by Capcom on the iOS platform on July 2nd has so far been purchased by less than 2000 players.
This game is a complete port of the "Resident Evil 7" console version from 2017 and is currently available only on the high-end models iPhone 15 and 15 Pro Max. The game adopts a one-time purchase payment model, with the base version priced at $19.99 and additional content DLC priced at $20. At present, the total revenue of the game is only $28,000.
Source:《Resident Evil 7: Biohazard》
03. "Dusk," a Multiplayer Gaming Social Platform, Secures Funding
"Dusk," the multiplayer gaming social platform founded by Bjarke Felbo and Sanjay Guruprasad, has just completed a funding round of 8 million dollars.
The app offers voice chat functionality, as well as the ability to customize avatars and group chats. Players can enjoy voice communication with friends while playing online games, enhancing the gaming experience. Additionally, "Dusk" comes with a variety of casual mini-games, allowing players to enjoy leisurely gaming moments while waiting for online matches.
According to the company's statistics, beta users have spent a total of over 50 million minutes socializing with voice chat while playing games on the "Dusk" platform, which is equivalent to more than 830,000 hours. This is a testament to the platform's appeal and user engagement.
Source:《Dusk》
04. South Korean Webtoon App "WEBTOON" Earns $10 Million in 30 Days
At the end of June, the South Korean webcomic publisher WEBTOON Entertainment (stock code "WBTN") officially went public on the NASDAQ. On July 17th, the opening price was $20.34 per share, with a total market value of approximately $2.63 billion, equivalent to 0.74 times the market value of China Literature Ltd.
The successful IPO of WBTN was largely contributed to by its flagship app "WEBTOON." In the past 30 days, "WEBTOON" has surpassed 2 million downloads and generated revenue of up to 10 million US dollars, with the United States being the largest contributing market.
According to App Magic data, WBTN is the world's second-largest comic app publisher. Since its launch, it has successfully garnered 500 million US dollars in revenue solely through "WEBTOON," highlighting its leading position in the industry.
05. "Fingertip Warriors" Generates Over 100 Million in Revenue in the Japanese Market
The role-playing card game "Fingertip Warriors" developed by Blue Amber Network achieved great success in China, ranking in the top 31 of the WeChat mini-games bestseller list in March. Notably, this game has not only been hugely successful in the domestic market but has also successfully turned its attention to the Japanese market. Within just 40 days of its launch, the game's gross revenue in Japan reached 200 million yuan, demonstrating a remarkable performance.
According to SensorTower data, the game's performance in the Japanese market is commendable, with monthly revenue exceeding the hundred million level, and it has returned to the top 3 of the sales charts. The success of the game in the Japanese market also proves its beloved gaming experience and high-quality content, which is expected to gain further international recognition and support in the future.
06. "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang" Tops the Mobile Game Download Charts
In June, Moonton Games Technology's MOBA mobile game "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang" maintained a steady number of downloads in overseas markets, continuing to hold the top position on the download charts, with total downloads surpassing 600 million. Of these, the Google Play channel contributed over 500 million downloads to the game.
Additionally, two casual mobile games from Ivy Mobile, "Subway Princess Runner" and "Bubble Shooter - Pop Bubbles," also performed well, achieving download increases of 10% and 30% respectively, and successfully took the 2nd and 5th places on the download charts with ease.
Tencent's "Honor of Kings" also achieved tremendous success in overseas markets, with its download numbers in June growing 6.6 times compared to May, securing the 8th position on the download charts for the month.
07. "Heaven Burns Red" Enters Full-Server Public Beta, Igniting a 2D Game Craze
The 2D turn-based mobile game "Heaven Burns Red" with over 1.1 million pre-registrations went into open beta testing on July 17th and lived up to expectations, topping the iOS free chart. The cumulative downloads on both Bilibili and TapTap platforms have also exceeded 700,000.
Before its launch in the Chinese server, "Blazing Horizon" had already achieved tremendous success in Japan, the homeland of 2D culture.
On the day of its Japanese server launch, February 10, 2022, "HBR" topped the free charts on both the Japanese App Store and Google Play, and it entered the top thirty of the bestsellers list the following day. It won three major awards in Japan for the year 2022: Google Play's Best Game of the Year, Most Popular Game, and the Story Department Award.
Currently, "Heaven Burns Red" has achieved a staggering estimated overseas gross revenue of 3.2 billion yuan.
08. Gaming Social Platform "Pengu" Raises $5 Million in Funding
"Pengu" is a social gaming product that combines virtual pets, social interaction, and mini-games, and it was officially launched on September 30, 2023.
Each user can adopt multiple penguins either individually or with several friends. While two people raise a penguin together, giving their pet love and care, they can also interact with each other, such as reminding to "tap the heart" or to feed the pet, which helps to strengthen their relationship.
As of July 2024, "Pengu" has performed well with over 500,000 daily active users worldwide. Additionally, in the past 30 days, its global revenue has reached an impressive $135,000.
With such outstanding results, its parent company SLAY successfully secured $5 million in financing on June 20th.
Source:《Pengu》
