The puzzle game Royal Match, developed by Dream Games in Istanbul, has claimed the title of the world’s most profitable mobile game, surpassing Candy Crush Saga owned by Microsoft, over the past stagnant 12 months. Candy Crush, which had been the market leader for over a decade, lost this title to a Turkish game.

Royal Match reached a user base of 55 million active users

According to Data.ai, which tracks consumer spending on the Apple and Android app stores, Royal Match became the top-grossing mobile game globally in terms of monthly revenue in July. It has held the top position since then. Released in 2021, this game is the first from the Turkish startup Dream Games, valued at $2.75 billion early last year.

Candy Crush Saga has been one of the consistently popular games worldwide on any platform for over a decade, reaching a cumulative revenue of $20 billion this year. Now part of Microsoft after being acquired for $75 billion by Activision Blizzard, Candy Crush has remained among the top 10 highest-grossing mobile games since its launch in 2012, according to Data.ai, for only six months.

Soner Aydemir, the founder and CEO of Dream Games, mentioned that consumer spending on Royal Match has more than doubled until October, and the game’s annual gross revenue rate (excluding app store fees) has reached $2 billion.

As of the latest information, Candy Crush Saga has 160 million active users, while Royal Match has 55 million active users. However, despite the difference in user numbers, Royal Match has been generating more revenue than Candy Crush Saga since July 2023.

CEO Soner Aydemir stated that their players are more loyal to in-game items compared to other puzzle games and are willing to spend more. He added that over 90% of Royal Match users who played the game for a year continued playing in the second year.

“Regularly, the whole team watches movies, and then we discuss for hours what they did well and what they did poorly. Additionally, we play games that couldn’t sustain in the market and try to understand why they didn’t succeed,” said Turkish CEO Aydemir, who also emphasized that he believes quality is the best business plan.

Dream Games, founded in 2019 by former executives of Peak Games, another Turkish mobile developer acquired by the U.S. rival Zynga in 2020. Currently employing 200 people, the company recently hired Ed Catmull, co-founder of digital animation pioneer Pixar, as a strategic advisor.

According to Soner Aydemir, Catmull, who surpassed level 5,000 in the game, said, “When I first started playing Royal Match, the unusual attention to the game’s visual quality impressed me a lot.” What are your thoughts on this news? Feel free to share your opinions in the comments section.