Roblox tops Korean mobile game charts in 2023: Analysis

[Courtesy of Roblox]

Roblox, a metaverse game platform, was the most popular mobile game in South Korea this year, with the average number of monthly active users nearing 1.6 million.

According to the results of a mobile game trend analysis conducted by big data platform company IGAWorks’ Marketing Cloud on Tuesday, Roblox topped the chart in terms of average MAUs, with a record-breaking 1.59 million users.

The ranking was followed by Niantic Inc.’s augmented reality game Pokemon Go with 1.09 million users.

The data was based on the mobile game trends in Korea from January to November, collected and analyzed by IGAWorks’ mobile big data analysis platform, Mobile Index.

Launched in 2006 by the U.S. video game maker Roblox Corp., Roblox allows users to engage in activities in a virtual world with block-like characters, create their own games, experience games created by other users, and generate revenue by crafting and selling items.

“The key to this game’s success is that it offers a variety of games across genres within the game,” IGAWorks Marketing Cloud said.

Battle game Teamfight Tactics came in third with 1.01 million users, followed by the multiplayer online battle game Brawl Stars with 960,000 users, card game Pmang New Matgo with 940,000 users, and arcade game Infinite Stairs with 890,000 users.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) were dominant in terms of highest revenue rankings.

The cumulative revenue for the January to November period showed Lineage M at the top, with 435.5 billion won ($333 million), followed by Kakao Games Corp.’s Odin with 243.3 billion won, Wemade Co.’s Night Crows with 205.5 billion won, and NCsoft’s Lineage W with 195.3 billion won. “While the Lineage series has faced criticism for excessive in-game purchases, Lineage M’s reign is still strong,” IGAWorks Marketing Cloud said.

MMORPGs have their reputations for in-game purchases in the domestic mobile game market, which very often influence video game developers’ performance.

Looking at the top 10 cumulative revenue rankings, eight titles are all MMORPGs, except for Nexon Korea Corp.’s EA Sports FC Online M and FC Mobile.

“While most domestic game companies are grappling with the challenge of moving away from a lineup dominated by Lineage-like games and diversifying their genres and platforms, it is difficult for them to give up MMORPGs because of their high user demand compared to any other genre,” said an industry insider.