- [MOBILE] Blue Archive, exceeding a cumulative revenue of $650 million in sales in its 4th year since release.
Sensor Tower's research shows that over a period of about 4 years from the launch of "Blue Archive" in Japan to its global expansion, the game has achieved cumulative downloads of 13 million worldwide and cumulative revenue of approximately $650 million.
73.1% of the total revenue came from the Japanese market, followed by Korea (10.5%) and the U.S. (6.2%). Japan had an average revenue per download (RPD) of about $110, which was the highest among major countries and significantly above the global average of $50.
In January 2023, "Blue Archive" set the second-highest monthly revenue after release, and in August, it surpassed that with the highest monthly revenue, showing greater success about 2 years after its initial release in Japan. This coincided with the start of the 2nd and 2.5th-anniversary events.
The impact of the anniversary events continued to shine in the special 4th-anniversary event that started on January 20, 2025. According to Sensor Tower app performance insights data, "Blue Archive" rose to the top of the Japanese mobile game market revenue ranking through combined daily revenue on Apple App Store and Google Play Store on January 21, 2025. It then maintained high rankings, reclaiming the top spot on January 28th and 29th again.
With this achievement, "Blue Archive" achieved its fourth-highest monthly revenue in January 2025 since its launch in Japan.
"Blue Archive" establishes a strong presence in the fiercely competitive Japanese subculture market
The popularity of subculture games in the Japanese market is evident in the mobile game revenue rankings. In the past year, six subculture games were included in the top 10 mobile game revenue rankings in the Japanese market according to Sensor Tower's Game IQ metrics. Furthermore, when looking at subculture mobile games that have entered the top global revenue rankings in recent years, the Japanese market has contributed the highest revenue in most games, with many cases where Japanese publishers were responsible for the service.
Thus, the subculture game market in Japan continues to have a strong influence steadily alongside the enthusiastic participation of fans. "Blue Archive" has climbed to 14th place since its launch in the fiercely competitive subculture market, establishing a clear position among competing titles.
Notably, among top-ranking games, "Blue Archive" is relatively newly released and notable for being a South Korean game along with "Goddess Waifu: Nike." Subculture games typically have a strong and loyal fan base, indicating the potential for "Blue Archive" to establish itself as a popular long-running subculture game of South Korean origin.
"Blue Archive" captivates the subculture fan base, expanding its popularity through anniversary events and advertising strategies
According to Sensor Tower's Audience Insights, the game "Blue Archive" users in the Japanese market were most likely to play the game "Azur Lane" published by Yostar compared to other games. This was followed by "Goddess Waifu: Nike," "Girls' Frontline 2: Exile," "My Single Apartment," and "School Idol Master." This indicates that "Blue Archive" users are highly engaged with other subculture mobile games, demonstrating that "Blue Archive" has captured the subculture fan base while simultaneously being actively involved with other subculture mobile games.
The success of the anniversary event played a significant role in making "Blue Archive" a popular title in the long run. In subculture games, immersive stories and emotionally engaging, unique characters are crucial, and "Blue Archive" has consistently reflected this in every anniversary event.
In particular, the 4th-anniversary event released the highly anticipated characters "Seiya" and "Rio," enhancing the story and character narratives. Additionally, at a large-scale offline celebration event, various interactive contents such as life-sized character exhibitions, VR experiences, and cosplay were provided to allow players to immerse themselves more deeply in the characters and the world of "Blue Archive."
Efficiently executed advertisements for the anniversary event also led to increased player engagement. According to Sensor Tower's Digital Advertising Intelligence tool PassMatics, "Blue Archive" utilized TikTok as a key channel in digital advertising within Japan. In particular, there was a significant increase in ad spending on the TikTok channel in January and July when the anniversary event began, leading to higher ad impressions.
In January 2025, as the 4th-anniversary event of "Blue Archive" began, the game ranked 3rd in ad spend and ad impressions among mobile games in Japan. This strategic move to actively promote the anniversary event can be seen as a strategic initiative to attract player interest and engagement.
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