Bonus Level: 46 Mobile Releases of November 2020
Fruit Ninja 2, Street Fighter: Duel, Star Wars: Starfighter Missions, Warpath, Evo Pop
Top Releases
Fruit Ninja 2 by Halfbrick Studios;
Street Fighter: Duel by Tencent (China only);
Star Wars: Starfighter Missions by Joymax (Japan, Korea, SEA);
Warpath by Lilith Games (Android);
Evo Pop by Zeptolab.
Major Games
1.Fruit Ninja 2 by Halfbrick Studios. The classic is back with a PvP mode and extended meta. The first Fruit Ninja was released on iOS in April 2010.
2.Warpath by Lilith Games (Android; iOS is expected on January 19). WW2-themed 4X strategy with real-time controls of troops. From Chinese company behind top-grossing Rise of Kingdoms and AFK Arena.
3.Evo Pop by Zeptolab. Real-time strategy game with original concept: multiply cell-like creatures to dominate the map.
4.Street Fighter: Duel by Tencent (China only). 3v3 real-time multiplayer fighting game in the famous series, but for Chinese market only. Taiwanese singer Jay Chou is taking part as game ambassador and playable character.
5.Heroes War: Counterattack by Com2Us. Character collecting RPG in post-apocalyptic fantasy world. Buy heroes of your choice without gacha. Turn-based combat introduces character movements and counterattacks on enemy turn.
6.A3: Still Alive by Netmarble. Dark fantasy open-world MMORPG with various PvP modes, including battle royale for 30 players. Reached 1M+ downloads in Google Play.
7.Guitar Girl: Relaxing Music Game by Neowiz. Music game with UI simulating livestreaming app. Over 1M downloads on Google Play.
Licensed IPs
8.Star Wars: Starfighter Missions by Joymax in Japan, Korea, SEA. Shoot’em up in Star Wars universe from Korean publisher. Looks like the game is licensed for a limited number of countries and won’t be released globally.
9.Slam Dunk by DeNA (Asia only). Basketball arcade sim with 3v3 matches based on anime by Toei Animation. Over 1M downloads on Google Play.
10.TheOdd1sOut: Let's Bounce by BroadbandTV. Simple bouncing game featuring youtuber TheOdd1sOut.
11.Transport City: Truck Tycoon by CupGum (Early Access). Send trucks to deliver goods and hire drivers. The game is developed by Hong Kong-registered company, specialized in branded games, for Beyond Infinity, German manufacturer of electrical ride on cars for children.
Notable Updates
Plague Inc. by Ndemic Creations/Miniclip. Long-awaited update The Cure adds a new mode, where you research the vaccine and adopt public policies to stop the pandemic instead of trying to eradicate humanity.
Medium & New Publishers
12.Garage Empire by Fingersoft. Idle cars tycoon with arcade racing. From Finish studio behind hit Hill Climb Racing series, which generated over 1B downloads.
13.Shadow Fight Arena by Nekki. Real-time PvP fighting, where you enter the battle with a team of 3 fighters. Games in Shadow Fight series from Russian publisher Nekki were downloaded 500M times.
14.Frostborn: Co-op Survival by Kefir Games. iOS release of survival crafting game in Nordic setting from Russian studio. Android version was available since May 2019. Last Day on Earth: Survival from Kefir was downloaded 50M+ times on Google Play.
15.Forsaken World: Gods and Demons by Youzu. Fantasy open-world MMORPG with autoplay and flying from Chinese publisher.
16.Project Makeover by Bubblegum Games. Match3 with a fashion inspired narrative meta: “Make Up! Dress up! Renovate!”. A debut game by American studio from Palo Alto, California.
17.Hellopet House by Appxplore (iCandy). Pet-themed cooking time manager. Prepare meals and bouquets for dogs and cats, renovate a house and collect pets in meta game.
18.Dystopia: Contest of Heroes by Beetroot Lab. Base building war strategy following Clash of Clans steps, but in a vivid scifi art-direction. Latvian studio worked on the game for 5 years. The main character is played by UFC star Conor McGregor.
19.Shining Beyond by XII Braves. Character collecting RPG with anime-styled art direction from Singaporean studio.
20.Destiny Child: Defense War by Thumbage. Squad-based tower defense with characters gacha.
21.Room Flip: Design Dream Home by Nukebox Studios. Match-3 with a winning formula for meta-game: you are the host of renovation TV show. Developed by Indian studio behind Spongebob Krusty Cook-Off released in partnership with Tilting Point.
22.Bullet Knight by Kooapps Games. Yet another Archero follower. From publisher of Pictoword and Snake.io.
23.War Alliance by MG Magnific Games. RTS in Clash Royale style. Debut game from a German studio based in Berlin.
Meaningful Games
24.Kakapo Run by Quantum Shift Studios/Playstack. Runner for raising awareness about endangered spices of kakapo, a flightless parrot. There are only near 200 birds left living in the wild in New Zealand. Full story at PocketGamer.biz.
Top Downloaded Hypercasuals
1st time entries in top 15 of the US App Store
25.Roof Rails by Pixel Box/Voodoo. Collect log pieces to extend a trunk in your hands and use it to ride on rails between skyscraper roofs - well, you need an original gameplay to gain low CPI.
26.Barista Life by Rollic Games (Zynga). Prepare coffee and serve pastry.
27.Teacher Simulator by Kwalee. Quiz style game: decide, if children answered questions and completed tasks correctly.
28.Blade Forge 3D by Kwalee. Create bladed weapons and test them.
29.Spa Master by Ruby Games Studio. Minigames around activities in spa salon. By Turkish studio behind Hunter Assassin.
30.Rush Hour 3D by Good Job Games. Arcade racing from Turkish pulisher. What?! Did they just add textures to 3D models? That’s advanced 3D graphics for hypercasual.
31.Cat Escape! by Sunday.gg (Applike Group). Stealth game with a cat character. Debut game by a new hypercasual publisher from Germany.
32.Hyper Recycle by Suji Games. Operate loader of a garbage truck. From Istanbul-based studio.
Premium Games
33.XCOM 2 Collection by Firaxis Fames/Feral Interactive/2K Games, $24.99 (iOS). Iconic turn-based tactical strategy comes to iOS, including all DLC packs.
34.Bridge Constructor: The Walking Deadby ClockStone Software/Headup, $4.99. Construct bridges and traps to escape hordes of zombies and meet chracters from the famous franchise. Simultaneous release on PC and consoles.
35.Forager by HopFrog/Humble Bundle, $7.99 (iOS). Survival-crating in 2D open world. Popular indie game from Aregentinian studio released on Steam in April 2019, Very Positive (15.8K reviews).
36.Moonlighter by 11 bit studios, $11.99 (iOS). Action RPG about shopkeeper, who is adventuring in dungeons by night. Indie hit available on Steam since May 2018 (Very Positive, 7K reviews).
37.Samorost 2 by Amanita Design, $2.99. 15 years after PC release Czech developers ported classic adventure on mobile.
38.Football Manager 2021 Mobile by Sega, $8.99. Sports manager simulator is back on shelves every year.
39.Embracelet by Machineboy AS, $6.99 (iOS). Adventure about teenager in Northern Norway, who possesses a magical bracelet. Also released on PC and Nintendo Switch in September 2020.
Apple Arcade
40.The Pathless by Giant Squid/Annapurna Interactive. Action-adventure with archery and falconry, where you are trying to lift a curse on an island playing as a huntress accompanied by an eagle. Released simultaneously on PC and PS4/5.
41.All of You by Alike Studio. Solve puzzles to help chicken reunite with her lost chicks.
42.Reigns: Beyond by Nerial/Devolver Digital. The series, which commenced card-flipping gameplay, is going into space - you are indie rock band, which travels around galaxy on the journey to interstellar fame.
43.Warp Drive - Teleport Racing! by Supergonk Ltd. Arcade racing on quadcopters with instant teleporting around the track.
Notable Indies
44.Space Marshals 3 by Pixelbite. Shooter in scifi+western setting. High level of polish. Try-n-buy model: $4.99 for the first chapter. Next chapters will be released later for a separate price.
45.Machinal Instinct by Pomelo Games. Fighting of animals controlling makeshift mechs. From Uruguayan dev team.
46.Underworld Office! by Buff Studio. Chat style interactive narrative game with ghosts from Korean developers. Their previous title 7 Days amasses 4M downloads.
Upcoming Games
Announced
1.Farlight 84 by Miracle Games/Lilith Games. A very ambitious battle royale with mobile/PC cross-play from a new Singaporean company and Chinese heavy-hitter Lilith Games (AFK Arena, Rise of Kingdoms). It’s a hero-based battle royale, like Apex Legends, with vehicles, jetpacks, weapons customization, and you even can build a house utilizing resources scavenged in combat. Post-apocalyptic wacky weapons and humor are included. Early Access is scheduled for 2021. Watch trailer.
2.Tomb Raider Reloaded by Emerald City Games/Square Enix. Teaser trailer doesn’t reveal anything about gameplay. The game is developed by Vancouver-based studio and will ship in 2021.
3.Total War Battles: Warhammer by NetEase/Creative Assembly/Sega. Real-time strategy in Warhammer fantasy setting and within Total War series approach, developed fully by NetEase.
4.Summoners War: Lost Centuria by Com2Us. Real-time battles of 8v8 characters - a change to a proven formula of turn-based RPG combat. Closed Beta started on November 21. Original Summoners War: Sky Arena grossed $2B in life-time revenues in August 2020, 6 years since launch in June 2014.
5.Battlepalooza by nWay Inc. Battle royale shooter with art-direction in Fortnite style, which uses real world maps of San Francisco, Vegas and Paris recreated through Google Maps. The launch is scheduled for December 10.
Soft-Launched
6.Might & Magic: Dynasty by Ubisoft. MMO strategy is trying to recreate the magic of classic series of Heroes of Might & Magic - map explorations, city building, tactical battles. Was soft-launched on Android in September and updated in October. Countries: Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore.
7.Merge Inc. by Gram Games (Zynga). Merging game with drones and base-expanding fantasy. Trailer features stealth minigames in Hunter Assassin style. From Istanbul/London-based studio behind top-grossing Merge Dragons.
8.Garden Days: Match And Grow by Playdots (Take-Two Interactive). Match3 with garden renovation meta. Differentiator: less cartoonish art-direction than in average Gardenscapes follower on the market.
9.Idle Restaurant Tycoon by Kolibri Games (Ubisoft). Idle clicker restaurant manager from German studio dominating idle niche with Idle Miner Tycoon. Soft launched in Australia, Canada, and UK.
10.Lootland by Nitro Games. Co-op PvE shooter with 3rd-person camera, Brawl Stars-like art direction and portrait orientation. From Finish company traded on Sweden stock exchange. iOS countries: Canada, Finland, USA. Android countries: Canada, Finland, Ukraine.
Pre-registration started
11.Empires Mobile by IGG.com. 4X fantasy strategy with heroes similar to Rise of Kingdoms. From Chinese creators of Lords Mobile.
12.WWE Undefeated by nWay. RPG/Fighting with a deck-based combat from California-based developers. License for real-world wrestling stars is included.
13.Mist Forest by NetEase. Idle character collecting RPG with portrait orientation. A step into AFK Arena territory.
14.Birdie Crush: Fantasy Golf by Com2Us. Golf simulator with anime girls characters from Korean publisher of Summoners War.
15.Dynasty Scrolls by Yoozoo Games. Character collecting RPG in Chinese mythology world.
16.Modern Dead by Onemt. RPG and city-building strategy combination in zombie apocalypse setting. From the publisher focused on Middle-East market.
17.Stella Arcana by LRGame Inc. Open world MMORPG with combat, house decorations, pets and dating. Debut title with high production quality from the company registered in Hong Kong.
18.Legacy of Destiny II: Dark vs Light by UnlockGames. Fantasy MMORPG with 3D graphics and portrait orientation from Chinese publisher.
Canceled
1.Hay Day Pop by Supercell (Tencent). Match3 in farming setting is closing down in the end of January. The game didn’t make it through soft launch stage. Purchased hard currency is transferable to other Supercell game.
2.Saint Seiya Shining Soldiers by Bandai Namco. 1v1 command-based battler with a license from Japanese manga Saint Seiya is closing global servers in January 2021. The game amassed 500K+ downloads on Google Play.
Previous Months
October 2020: 46 releases & 16 upcoming games
September 2020: 40 releases & 17 upcoming games.
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