Free-to-play mobile games require a continuous treadmill of content to retain audiences, so collaborations are a great way to feed their content pipelines. But why are so many games suddenly partnering with anime IPs?
Otaku culture and the "Anime, Comics, and Gaming" (ACG) aesthetic have long been popular in the East and have a growing fandom in the West. Successes like HoYoverse's Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail have brought this fandom to new global highs, and we now see all types of mobile games riding this wave by launching anime and manga collaborations.
So let’s dig into where this trend is heading and how mobile game teams can maximize their successes with anime collabs. But first we take a look at how the market is enabling these partnerships.
First, anime is clearly a big and growing industry. Though the global anime market is only 16% the size of the game industry ($31B versus $184B), it's projected to grow to $44B by 2027. There are 600M anime fans globally, and that number is rising as major streaming platforms such as Netflix, HBO Max, and Hulu add to their anime libraries, reaching ever more mainstream audiences.
The rise of anime, even in games, is obvious, but the magnitude of its impact is still underestimated. Anime fans are 40% more likely to play 20-plus hours of video games than non-anime fans — meaning there's already a huge overlap between anime fans and hardcore gamers. The most popular genres played by anime fans are action adventure, RPGs, and fighting games — hotbeds for anime collabs.
The most popular genres played by anime fans are action adventure, RPGs and fighting games – hotbeds for anime collabs.
Additionally, a whopping 42% of Gen Zers watch anime weekly, compared to 25% of millennials and 12% of Gen Xers. Anime is also more popular with racial and ethnic minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, and multicultural individuals. Anime’s rapidly rising generational interest is a clear long-term growth engine.
This growing fanbase demands more anime content in games, even in places many previously wouldn’t have expected. Collaborations can slowly introduce ACG aesthetics through live ops, which don’t require drastic UI changes or deep investments into game features. Plus, in today’s user-acquisition environment, partnering with well-known IP can reduce the cost of UA and improve key metrics across engagement, retention, and monetization. On the surface, these collaborations make a ton of sense, but setting them up for maximum success requires attention to detail.
How Mobile Games Can Get Anime Collabs Right
The case for anime collaborations is compelling, but not every partnership will work. Here’s what mobile game makers should keep in mind:
Level of Integration with the Game
Anime fans are especially attached to their favorite characters. Sixty-seven percent of anime fans incorporate anime characters into their digital avatars. For mobile games with cosmetics economies, collaborations can introduce anime characters as cosmetics to create avenues for self-expression, leading to monetization opportunities.
Fans also appreciate contextual collabs: Mobile games can integrate anime storylines and artifacts with live ops to run rich, exciting, and engaging events.
For example, PUBG Mobile has collaborated with multiple anime brands including "Neon Genesis Evangelion", "Jujutsu Kaisen", "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya", "Higurashi: When They Cry", and SpyxFamily.
In June, Battleground Mobile India partnered with the iconic anime "Dragon Ball Super", incorporating beloved characters such as Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan. Dragon Ball is a widely commodified, evergreen IP, and the timing made sense given the anime is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.
The event integrated "Dragon Ball" anime concepts such as ki, an energy mechanic that allows players to levitate, just like their favorite characters. It also introduced Kamehameha, an iconic attack from the series, and items such as the Dragon Radar, HoiPoi Capsule, and, of course, Dragon Balls. The event also added an entertaining mini-quest to the classic battle royale, leading to improved downloads and store revenue. According to data.ai, the game experienced a clear jump in Android download.
Data.ai also noted a clear rise in spending on iOS devices during the course of this event.
Brand Identity
It should go without saying that genre-IP fit is critical for mobile game partnerships. Versatile games like PUBG Mobile can support diverse anime collaborations, but not every anime will fit every game.
We have seen successful partnerships between action packed “shounen anime” and action adventure or fighting games like Free Fire x Naruto, or Mobile Legends Bang Bang x Attack on Titan. Similarly, "JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures", an adventure/supernatural anime, was featured in Towers of Saviors (a mythology based match-3 RPG), Monster Strike (a monster/character collector), and Path to Nowhere (a tower defense gacha set in a dystopian world). So there’s a clear trend of fantasy anime brands working well with action-adventure-leaning mobile games.
There are also cases in which anime brands are more versatile than some would presume. For instance, check out eFootball’s recent event with the soccer/football anime "Blue Lock", based on the best-selling manga of 2023. During the event, players could add "Blue Lock" special edition cards to their dream team squads, including popular players like Takefusa Kubo and Filippo Inzaghi. It also included limited edition jersey strips.
The collaboration ran from March 21st to April 11th, and given the obvious spikes in downloads and revenue, fans clearly enjoyed it.
This is just one example, but the world of anime can lead to all sorts of offbeat yet logical collaborations, within and beyond mobile. For instance, casual mobile games in the lifestyle, simulation, or match genres can partner with “shoujo” anime targeted toward female audiences. RPG and fantasy mobile games can partner with the rapidly emerging “isekai” or “other world” anime subgenre.
Market Success
One way games could take advantage is by partnering with those shows or manga that are having pop cultural moments or topping charts. Ranking websites like MyAnimeList are useful resources for researching the popularity and potential reach of an anime.
Garena Free Fire took this route when it partnered with "Demon Slayer", the top-selling manga in North America in 2023. The event featured a visually stunning user interface and a range of attractive "Demon Slayer" collectibles.
The month-long event launched on September 26th, 2023, and clearly resulted in higher downloads and store revenue.
Fortunately, several dominant anime IPs remain underutilized across mobile gaming. Popular anime such as "One Piece", "One-Punch Man", and "Jujutsu Kaisen" would make great collaboration partners, especially for larger-scale midcore mobile games.
Final Thoughts
Anime partnerships in mobile games are here to stay — and are growing. The above examples show how mobile games can successfully execute these collaborations through live ops, but that’s just the beginning. We see the top anime brands increasingly featuring across midcore action, adventure, RPG, and fighting games, and these will coincide with tentpole events like new anime seasons, movies, and anniversaries.
We’ll likely also see casual game genres venture into this space at an accelerated rate to collaborate with different, underutilized anime genres. Not all partnerships will move the needle, but don’t be surprised to see many of the most successful live ops events rooted in anime.
In other words: It’s time to embrace anime and truly excite the next generation of gamers.
A Word from Our Sponsor: nSURE.ai
Keep Players in the Game: Turn Payment Fraud into a Profit Center
In the gaming industry, protecting revenue from fraudsters is crucial. That’s where nSure.ai comes in. As a proven industry leader, nSure.ai provides scalable payment fraud prevention that’s not just effective but tailored specifically to your needs. The team’s adaptive AI creates a dedicated model based on your data, focusing on behavioral patterns to catch even the most sophisticated fraud attempts.
With decisions made in under 500 milliseconds and up to 98% approval rates, nSure.ai ensures more legitimate transactions get approved, meaning fewer interruptions and a smoother experience for your players. Plus, with a chargeback guarantee, you can focus on growing your business while the risk is handled for you.
Keep your players in the game and your revenue protected. Turn payment fraud into a profit center. Click below, to learn how nSure.ai delivers net incremental profit with zero risk.
In Other News
💸 Funding & Acquisitions:
- Gate Ventures and The Blockchain Center in Abu Dhabi launch $100M Falcon Gate Ventures
- Soulbound raises $4M for Web3 social gaming ecosystem
- Mudstack raises $4M to manage assets for game devs
- Virtuos acquires British indie game developer Third Kind Games
- Tencent expands Venture Lab initiative to better support early-stage developers worldwide
📊 Business & Products:
- Black Myth Wukong peaks at 2.2M players on Steam on first day
- EA Sports College Football 25 boosted all gaming sales | Circana July 2024
- Global Revenue Growth and the Rise of Mini Games
- Peter Molyneux debuts self-funded Masters of Albion
- Embracer sales drop 24% to $754m due to tough comparisons with Dead Island 2
👾 Miscellaneous:
- Monopoly GO! wins the prestigious Game of the Year award at the Mobile Games Awards 2024
- Who’s spending big money on Gamescom booths?
- Publisher Headup establishes new independent studio Goon Squad
- Amazon's widening bet on games: "We're not hell bent on just being MMOs"
- Team17: "Indies need to demonstrate they understand what players are looking for"
Content Worth Consuming
Nintendo Completely Sat out the Video Game Graphics Wars. It’s Winning Anyway.
(sherwood.news): “When you’re immersed in a game like “Cyberpunk 2077,” it’s easy to get lost in its realism. As you run around the crowded streets of Night City, you notice the reflections of the city lights and neon signs in the puddles when it rains. Even the complexion and texture of a character’s skin are enamoring. At full power, the game, created by CD Projekt Red, is a graphical marvel. It’s also a symbol of a decades-long arms race between the biggest video game companies to make things look as real as possible. And then there are Nintendo games.”
Chinese Gaming Giants: Tencent vs. NetEase (GameMakers Podcast): “We dive deep into the fierce competition between Tencent and NetEase – two titans shaping the global gaming landscape. Discover how these companies are navigating the challenges of the Chinese market and their strategies or international expansion. We also share our personal experiences about Tencent and provide insider insights you can’t find anywhere else.”
Behind the Headlines: Dean Takahashi’s Journey Through Gaming’s Biggest Stories (The Fourth Curtain): “In this exciting episode of the Fourth Curtain, hosts Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin dive deep into the world of gaming journalism with none other than Dean Takahashi, the lead writer of GamesBeat at VentureBeat. With over three decades of experience covering tech and gaming, Dean shares his unique insights on the evolving landscape of the gaming industry, the challenges of maintaining journalistic integrity in the age of AI, and the stories that have shaped his career.”
Exploring the Future of Mobile Ad Measurement(with Barak Witkowski)(Mobile Dev Memo Podcast): “My guest in this episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast is Barak Witkowski, the Chief Product Officer of Appsflyer, a mobile advertising attribution and measurement platform. In our conversation, among other things, Barak and I discuss the prevailing themes in mobile attribution; how advertisers have adapted to the rapidly evolving privacy landscape, and what separates the most effective advertiser initiatives from those that haven't worked as well; how the media landscape utilized by mobile app advertisers changed over the past few years and more.”
Valve Just Took Away a Valuable Visibility Tool (howtomarketagame.com): “Last week Valve outlawed excessive cross promotion and other visual noise from Steam store pages. I am not sure this is a great idea. In today’s post I will look at what they are changing and why I don’t think this is entirely helpful for the mid-tier indie game developers.”
Our Gamification Consulting Services
Today, we’re highlighting our gamification consulting services! Applying game mechanics to all sorts of applications has proven to boost retention, engagement, and revenue — but doing it right can be harder than it seems. More specifically, Naavik offers constructive gamification deconstructions, gamification workshops, and ongoing flexible support. Here is what one of our clients had to say.
“We have been very happy with the support Naavik provided to Sleepagotchi. They have an incredible expert network, with world-class game designers, narrative designers, and UA specialists. The team helps us in developing and stress-testing new game core loops, think deeply about our game constraints, and something that is rare for a consulting partner - care deeply about our mission and vision.”
- Anton Kraminkin, Founder & CEO of Sleepagotchi
If you’d like to learn more, reach out here! Also check out our expanded consulting service portfolio here.
