GameRefinery, a Liftoff company, mobile game market review: October 2023

Pokémon Go introduced a four-player party system following its success in Niantic’s other AR game, Monster Hunter Now, which was released in September. Parties can be formed with players near your physical location and last for one hour. Party gameplay also gives a boost to Raid performance.

Hotel sim Idle Arcade, My Perfect Hotel, launched two major updates (Halloween update and Features update), which introduced a new permanent boost system, a special battle pass, hotel manager skins, and a limited-time Halloween event with Halloween-themed skins and a special currency. Downloads rankings have dropped, but the revenue trend has increased.

Monster Strike recently celebrated its 10th Anniversary in Japan with an update that featured several unique elements that are not commonly seen in Western games. These features included a social multi-gacha which allowed for both solo and group pulls, crossover events with Tokyo Revengers and comedians Ryota Sakai and Mogura Suzuki taking part in the 'Orb Back' event, and a discount campaign in the Monstop game mode. This campaign offered Japanese businesses the chance to provide location-based discounts at various establishments.

Futureplay’s Merge Gardens made its first appearance in the top-grossing 200 in October. The hybrid merge/match3 title has been steadily scaling its performance since the beginning of 2023, starting with a major content overhaul in January 2023 when a fresh cast of characters and mystery story elements were added to the mix. 

Arena Breakout, a global version of the China market’s high-performing extraction FPS (暗区突围), entered the top-grossing 200 chart for the first time in the US market. The game peaked at #161 after the launch of a new update introducing a variety of content, including a new map, new battle pass and ranked seasons, Halloween-themed events, and limited-time gachas for exclusive cosmetics