Q1 2025 Korean Mobile Game Publisher Report
1. Supercent Dominates Global Downloads
As of March 24, 2025, Supercent has secured the top position among Korean publishers in global downloads, recording an impressive 130 million downloads. Supercent has solidified its position as a leading player in the casual gaming market, consistently achieving strong performance worldwide. Following behind, Mobrix ranked second with approximately 18 million downloads.
While casual game giants continue to lead, emerging publishers such as KIGLE and SUD have also entered the TOP 5, drawing industry attention. KIGLE specializes in kid-friendly content, offering games accessible to all age groups. Meanwhile, SUD, a two-person indie studio, has rapidly expanded by continuously releasing its ‘Dal-in’ game series, which means ‘master’.
2. Revenue Performance in the Global Market
Despite their dominance in download figures, Korean publishers struggle to generate significant revenue from individual games in global markets. Among the Top 10 global downloads in Q1, the only Korean title to make the list was Supercent’s Pizza Ready!.
Moreover, no Korean games were present in the Top 10 global revenue rankings. This highlights the continued reliance of Korean mobile game publishers on download-based strategies while indicating the need to explore more effective monetization models in global markets.
3. Domestic Market Performance: Retro Game Boom & NCSOFT’s Dominance
Interestingly, many Korean publishers that did not stand out globally showed strong performance in the domestic market. In particular, Moca, a small-scale publisher, achieved the No.1 position in domestic downloads with Block Game, riding the wave of the retro gaming trend in Korea.
On the revenue front, NCSOFT’s Lineage M continues to hold the top position, as expected. However, Century Games, a Chinese publisher, is closing the gap with WOS: Whiteout Survival. This suggests that foreign publishers are strengthening their foothold in Korea, posing a growing challenge to domestic companies. Korean publishers must remain vigilant to maintain their competitive edge in their home market.
Data source: AppMagic
