Candy Crush Saga is the top grossing iOS game, with an estimated daily revenue of $632,867 in the United States alone, according to a July 22 report. The game’s success exemplifies the profitability of the free online gaming business.
Americans spent $20.77 billion on video games, hardware, and accessories last year, according to the Entertainment Software Association. Digital content accounted for 40 percent of game sales.
Without charging for the product, Candy Crush Saga is able to earn just under $3 per user with 6,698,463 daily active users, based on estimates published by Think Gaming consultancy service on July 22.
Online advertisement sales account for a portion of the revenue in free online gaming. The one-time sale of boosts—a secret code, or a better sword for a virtual character, or even an option to nix the appearance of ads on the game screen, for example—accounts for another portion.
Creators of the popular Facebook game Farmville say that only 3–5 percent of players spend any money on the game, according to an April 2012 Financial Post report. But, as the report points out, the other players who don’t spend any money become a beneficial part of the product.
The more players a game has, the more competitive the game is, the more people join—advertisement revenue rises, and more players likely to make micro-purchases sign on.
Candy Crush Saga may be the top grossing iOS game, but it comes second to Despicable Me: Minion Rush for number of daily installs of a free iOS game.
Despicable Me: Minion Rush has about 262,500 daily installs compared to Candy Crush Saga’s 225,000. The data is unavailable through Think Gaming for the number of daily users on Despicable Me. Candy Crush Saga’s revenue is, however, more than four times that of Despicable Me.
The top 10 grossing iOS games have a combined daily revenue of $3.4 million.
Candy Crush Saga Estimated Stats
Top Grossing iOS Game6,698,463 Daily Active Users
225,000 Daily Installs
$632,867 Daily Revenue
$2.87 Average Revenue Per User (Lifetime Value)
Source: Think Gaming consultancy service
Clash of Clans Estimated Stats
Second Top Grossing iOS Game
4,073,387 Daily Active Users
39,000 Daily Installs
$527,389 Daily Revenue
$3.94 Average Revenue Per User (Lifetime Value)
Source: Think Gaming consultancy service
Despicable Me: Minion Rush Estimated Stats
Top Free App, No. 12 on Top Grossing Apps
262,500 Daily Installs
$138,281 Daily Revenue
Source: Think Gaming consultancy service
Chart of Think Gaming estimates from Statista.com.
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