"Puzzle & Dragons" celebrates its 12th year anniversary

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In Japan, it’s known that many mobile smartphone games don’t last all that long. But there are a few that have been around more than 5 years. And a select few that has been around over 10 years.

GungHo Online Entertainment’s (headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo) “Puzzle & Dragons” (for iOS/Android) is celebrating their 12th year anniversary since its launch.

Puzzle & Dragons is a puzzle RPG for smartphones where you raise monsters and battle them through puzzles. On February 20, 2012, they released an app for iOS devices and began providing services. As of August 7, 2023, the game has been downloaded a total of 61 million times in Japan, and on September 10, 2023, it has been downloaded a total of 15 million times in North America, gaining many players both domestically and internationally.

According to US research firm Sensor Tower, Puzzle and Dragons remains highly popular even more than 10 years after its release, ranking fifth in the top 10 mobile games in Japan in 2023.

In addition to Puzzle and Dragons, the ranking included four other titles that were released more than five years ago. Sensor Tower explains why these five titles remain popular, saying, “One of the factors is the regular game updates that include the addition of new characters and new stories, balance adjustments, anniversary events, etc. Japanese publishers’ mobile games actively hold in-game collaboration events and are successful in securing profits.”

The top 5 of 2023 in game sales were: