From CoD to GTA: These mobile games are real money printing machines
The fans of Diablo, Super Mario, CoD and other well-known video game series must now be very strong: Mobile games may not have a particularly good reputation, but they make an incredible amount of money. Here we show you 7 series for which the jump to the smartphone and tablet was really worth it!
Many of the world’s most popular gaming franchises have made the leap from consoles and PC to the mobile market in recent years – the reaction from fans and critics has often been mixed, but financially the move has often been a huge success. We show you here 7 famous game franchiseswho have received one or more cell phone offshoots and tell you how the mobile versions have fared.
The mobile version of The Sims was released in March 2018 and flushed between $20 and $25 million in the first four months in EA’s coffers. The app allows you to carry your Sims in your pocket at all times, but the numerous in-game microtransactions can make life and furnishing your dream home quite difficult. (Source: SensorTower)
Android Rating: 4.1iOS Rating: 4.5
Call of Duty is also one of the biggest franchises in the world on mobile devices – especially since 2021, when the game was also released in China and surpass 650 million total downloads could. In addition, Activision 2021 alone took well over 1 billion US dollars from the game. The mobile platform has long been irreplaceable for the shooter franchise. (Source: VGC)
Android Rating: 4.3iOS Rating: 4.6
Nintendo’s kart racing series made it to mobile devices in 2019. The basic game concept has been retained in the adaptation – you can dash over colorful tracks with touch controls and use familiar items – but the speed has been significantly throttled and you can expect here too Plenty of microtransactions at every pit stop, which give the game a rather stale aftertaste. Nevertheless, as of May 2022, Nintendo was already able to look forward to a total of 270 million US dollars in revenue from the game. (Source: Nintendo Life)
Android Rating: 4.3iOS Rating: 4.5
Unlike other franchises on this list, GTA does not have a native mobile game on the platform (yet). instead has Rockstar donated a port to five older games in the series – So you can buy a GTA classic and play it on your mobile phone or tablet. You can choose between GTA 3, GTA: San Andreas, GTA: Vice City, GTA: Chinatown Wars and GTA: Liberty City Stories. With the ports, Rockstar will still earn several 100,000 US dollars a month in 2022. (Source: Sensor Tower)
Originally Fallout Shelter was only planned as a promotional app for Fallout 4, but the game quickly gained a sizeable audience and It even won two Mobile Game of the Year awards in 2017. In the Bethesda simulation, you are tasked with managing a bunker (vault) in the Fallout universe and keeping the residents alive. The popular offshoot of the series already broke the 100 million US dollar mark in 2019. (Source: Gamesindustry)
Android Rating: 4.5iOS Rating: 4.7
The augmented reality game sparked one in 2016 unprecedented hype about a mobile game the end. The concept of being able to catch real-life Pokémon with your phone won over even those who weren’t familiar with the franchise before. While player numbers have dwindled since peaking, Pokémon Go is still a showcase for famous franchises that have made the leap to mobile devices.
Android Rating: 4.3iOS Rating: 3.8
Diablo Immortal was already extremely controversial when it was announced: Blizzard developer Wyatt Cheng responded to the outcry at BlizzCon 2018, where the F2P mobile game considered sacrilegious by many Diablo fans would. The game is now available in the app stores – and has officially secured the title of the lowest rated video game of all time.
Many players praise the gameplay in general, but the aggressive microtransactions and gambling mechanics kill any kind of good will. Still, Diablo Immortal was worth it for Blizzard – the game has already raked in over $24 million in its first two weeks. (Source: Gamerant)
Android Rating: 3.6iOS Rating: 4.5
