When Blue Archive launched, nobody anticipated it would achieve the success it has achieved. Blue Archive was released back in February, 2021, and over the last 3 years, has achieved – and conquered many milestones no other Gacha has. It’s a game that seems easy at first glance, but is exponentially more difficult than anything I had ever imagined. It also happens to be one of the few Gacha games I’ve reached max level in, logging in and playing every single day.
But in spite of how much I enjoy Blue Archive personally, 2024 is a brand new year, and Blue Archive could’ve changed drastically since you last checked.
Hey, my name is Stix and welcome back to “The Shocking State of Gacha games,” a series where we talk about the state the game is in – frequency of updates, downloads, and revenue, in one easy to digest format, combining Global, Japanese and Chinese stats.
How is Blue Archive doing in 2024? How does it compare to 2023? Is it growing, or dying? Let’s find out.
December 2022
In December 2022 – which is where we’ll start, Blue Archive earned $6.5 million dollars. There were 150,000 new downloads.
January 2023
In January 2023, it earned $20.7 million dollars. There were 330,000 new downloads.
February 2023
In February 2023, it earned $23 million dollars. There were 320,000 new downloads.
March 2023
In March 2023, it earned $15 million dollars. There were 180,000 new downloads.
In the first 3 months of 2023, Blue Archive managed to earn $58.7 million dollars, and added 830,000 new players to the game. Absolutely monstrous numbers. At this point, the game was showing very little in terms of slowing down.
April 2023
In April 2023, it earned $12 million dollars. There were 210,000 new downloads.
May 2023
In May 2023, it earned $11.8 million dollars. There were 150,000 new downloads.
June 2023
In June 2023, it earned $6.8 million dollars. There were 180,000 new downloads.
At this juntcure we’re half way through the year. Blue Archive for the 2nd quarter managed to earn $30.6 million dollars, and added 540,000 new players to the game. Still ridiculous numbers, but almost half the total gross of the first quarter.
Was that because Blue Archive was declining? Or was it just a lull period in the year? Let’s keep going and find out.
July 2023
In July 2023, it earned $19 million dollars. There were 360,000 new downloads.
August 2023
In August 2023, it earned $22 million dollars. There were 290,000 new downloads.
September 2023
In September 2023, it earned $9.8 million dollars. There were 170,000 new downloads.
This is the third quarter of the year, Blue Archive managed to earn $50.8 million dollars, and added 820,000 new players to the game, falling just a few million dollars short of rivaling the first quarter of 2023.
Was Blue Archive in decline? Evidently not. But will the final quarter maintain similar earnings to the 2nd quarter, or 1st and 3rd? Let’s continue.
October 2023
In October 2023, it earned $10.7 million dollars. There were 170,000 new downloads.
November 2023
In November 2023, it earned $8.9 million dollars. There were 170,000 new downloads.
December 2023
In December 2023, it earned $7.6 million dollars. There were 150,000 new downloads.
In the final quarter of 2023, Blue Archive managed to earn $27.2 million dollars, and added 490,000 new players to the game. This was the lowest quarter of the year, which seems to follow a theme: 1st quarter does well, 2nd quarter doesn’t. 3rd quarter does well, 4th quarter doesn’t.
Increase, followed by a significant decrease, followed by a significant increase, followed once more by a significant decrease. I wonder if this is coincidence, or if it’s planned.
Regardless, that was 2023. We’ve made it through January thus far, and I’m curious how the remainder of the 1st quarter is going to go. But..
January 2024
In January 2024, it earned $16.1 million dollars. There were 330,000 new downloads.
February 2024
In February 2024, it earned $19.7 million dollars. There were 370,000 new downloads.
If January and February 2024 are anything to go off of, the first quarter of 2024 is going to be pretty damn significant quarter for the game.
Over the course of the entirety of 2023, Blue Archive managed to earn $167.3 million dollars, and added 2,680,000 players to the game.
These are numbers very few other Gacha games can compete with, which is why Blue Archive manages to make it into the top 10 highest grossing Gacha games, pretty much every single month of the year.
Blue Archive continues to earn more every single year, as more players are slowly injected into it.
The studio seems to show a deep appreciation for their players, rewarding us all with thousands of free currency every month, hundreds of free pulls during Anniversary events. Even in spite of giving away so much, players still spend exorbitant amounts of money in-game.
Which is a testament to the safety we feel spending money. We’re rewarded for supporting the game by giving us – even free players, repeated motivation to continue playing. Constant events. New characters. Outfits.
And most importantly: Currency to obtain everything we want, even without spending a cent.
This is why, at the end of the day, I genuinely believe Blue Archive is one of the highest quality, most free to play friendly Gacha games you’ll find.