GOODROID Surpasses 600 Million Downloads Worldwide: Carving Out New Strategies for Global Expansion through Casual Games

The global mobile gaming market continues high growth, with in-app purchase revenue projected to exceed $100 billion by 2028.
While the U.S. and China lead the market, Japan ranks third in the world's gaming economy.
In North America, the shift in user demand is palpable as casual games with short, accessible play sessions consistently dominate the top rankings.
*1 Source: Sensor Tower, 2024 Mobile Market Forecast

— With 600 million downloads so far, how do you see GOODROID’s position in the global landscape?

 In the expanding mobile game market, the momentum of casual games that offer instant fun is undeniable.We recognized the potential of this area early on and entered the business in 2014.Since 2019, we expanded into "hyper-casual" games, which attract a wide range of users through intuitive gameplay and generate revenue through advertising.Today, overseas sales account for over 90% of this category.
This model, based on in-app ad revenue, requires massive reach.With some global publishers exceeding 50 billion yen in annual revenue, we aim to further grow as a Japan-based studio to stand shoulder to shoulder with these competitors.

Our competence in challenging the massive international market, including North America, stems from our obsession with tactile feel, playability, and UI/UX.
By embedding the delicate craftsmanship unique to Japan into our products, our title, Hexa Away, reached No. 2 on the U.S. Google Play rankings.
Conversely, we see room for growth in our organizational marketing operations. We are accumulating proprietary expertise to reach top-tier global standards.
*3 Source: data.ai by SensorTower

— How do you maintain a rapid release pace of 19 titles per year while increasing the reproducibility of hit games?

 Our defining characteristic is the speed of our release criteria and PDCA cycles.Unlike large-scale development that takes years, we first release a minimum viable product to evaluate user response quantitatively.
We are meticulous about this process, sometimes conducting nearly 100 A/B tests for a single title.
It allows us to maximize the resolution of the user experience to ensure maximum comfort.
Our style is rapid verification and improvement—delivering products quickly and refining them based on user feedback.

This is supported by a flat organization without job/departmental silos.
Unlike the siloed structures of many global publishers, our engineers are deeply involved in creative production with a marketing perspective.Cross-functional collaboration is our DNA. Every member takes ownership of the data and repeats speedy improvements.This cycle ensures that reliable sense, based on empirical data rather than subjective opinion, is accumulated across the entire organization.

— Recently, you have also been focusing on "Hybrid-casual" games.

Hybrid-casual games, combining accessibility with deeper gameplay, are a significant growth area.This model, combining ad revenue with in-app purchases, increases profitability.It allows us to reach a vast audience while offering the deep, immersive experiences that core gamers crave.FAIRY TAIL: Mage's Chronicle, launched in December 2025, is a good example of combining a powerful IP with this method.

In collaborations with such IPs, our group’s comprehensive strength—including anime production—is a major advantage.
However, no matter how well-equipped the system is, the root is always the creator's pure passion for making the best games.Our teams bring a deep love and respect for the source material, which underpins our partnerships.