Today, Sensor Tower, a provider of diverse data and analytical solutions, revealed that the global cumulative revenue for the mobile game “Uma Musume: Pretty Derby” available on iOS, Android, and PC has exceeded $2.4 billion.
Cygames released the game in February 2021, and it marked its third anniversary this year. Data from Sensor Tower’s Store Intelligence reveals that from February 2021 to March 2024, this game represented 72% of Cygames’ mobile game revenue share in Japan, highlighting its crucial role for the company’s revenue as well as asserting just how immensely popular the game is.
Starting on February 24, 2024, the second phase of the third-anniversary event commenced for the Uma Musume Pretty Derby mobile game, propelling it to the highest position in Japan’s App Store revenue rankings.
Its ranking surged notably from 10th place just the day before the event’s launch. Since the event’s inception until March 30, it has consistently held a position within the top 10 rankings, demonstrating sustained high sales figures.
Ninety percent of the revenue from Uma Musume: Pretty Derby originates from Japan, which isn’t surprising given how Cygames have yet to give eager fans a western release for their elusive mobile game. Despite its limited availability, it ranks second in mobile revenue in Japan from January to March 2024, trailing “Monster Strike”.
Moreover, during the same period, it ranked third in terms of growth in mobile game revenue in Japan, indicating ongoing revenue growth even as it celebrated its third year anniversary.
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby hasn’t just outperformed other Cygames titles; it has significantly surpassed them. Princess Connect! Re:Dive contributes only 7.4% to their profits, Granblue Fantasy holds a 4% share, and Shadowverse accounts for 3.2%. In total, all of Cygames’ other titles combined amount to just 13.4% of their revenue.
Speaking of growth, Cygames recently announced the official release date of the Uma Musume party game developed by Arc System, set for August 30th.
It’s unsurprising that a significant portion of the fanbase comprises horse racing enthusiasts, mainly consisting of younger male audiences. From January to March 2024, the user base skewed towards 78% male and 24% female users.
Among age groups, the 25-34 age bracket holds the largest share, followed by the 19-24 age group, collectively representing 70% of the total user base.
It’s astonishing to see Uma Musume: Pretty Derby contributing to over 70% of Cygames’ revenue. The franchise, portraying adorable anthropomorphic racehorses, has generated three seasons of anime adaptations since its first premiere in April 2018, with the latest season wrapping up at the end of last year.
If the anime adaptations combined with the sheer profits this game is making weren’t evidence enough of Uma Musume’s popularity, the upcoming release of the feature-length film “Uma Musume: Pretty Derby – Shin Jidai no Tobira” in Japanese theaters on May 24th will undoubtedly propel the franchise to even greater heights.
As Special Week and the rest of the eccentric horse girls grace the big screen, there’s hope that Cygames might consider a western release of their hit mobile game sometime in the future.
