PlayTogether ranks 2nd in global metaverse game apps

Metaverse game platform PlayTogether, operated by South Korean game developer Haegin Co., ranked second in global metaverse app downloads during the first half, according to a metaverse game app report from Sensor Tower, a global mobile market research firm.

PlayTogether features various mini-games and promotes socializing among users. The metaverse game platform was launched in April 2021 and boasts 130 million cumulative app download numbers globally. The number of daily active users (DAU) surpassed 4 million this year.

The game platform is available in Korea, the US, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.

It is for users of any age, providing easy games such as running, passing bombs and getting crowns. Some non-competitive games include camping, cooking and fishing.   

PlayTogether is intensifying its entertainment business. Haegin and Korea’s audio streaming platform Genie Music Corp. jointly held four metaverse concerts for K-pop singer Jamie Park in February on the metaverse platform.  

The four concerts were respectively timed in the Korean, North American, Southeast Asian and European time zones. At one point during the concerts, up to 300,000 users logged on.    

Haegin was founded in September 2017 by CEO Lee Young-il, who is a co-founder of Com2uS Studios, the Korean creator of the popular game Summoners War. 

In May, Haegin received a combined 50 billion won ($37.5 million) in investment from Korea’s top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. and its spin-off SK Square Co. The investment was made to strengthen SK Telecom's metaverse platform and SK Square-led cryptocurrency.

Roblox ranked the world’s top metaverse game platform in terms of app downloads, the report said. The platform, developed by US gaming company Roblox Corp., recorded 52.2 million DAU as of the second quarter.

The report said that as another wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is set to promote a longer contactless lifestyle for global users, the concept of the virtual world and the metaverse has again become a hot spot for mobile market growth.

Global metaverse app downloads surpassed 200 million in 2020, according to the report, with a 43.5% growth rate. By 2021, downloads have increased by 71.7% on-year to reach 350 million, the report added.

During the first half of 2022, global metaverse apps received 170 million downloads, of which game apps made up 67.3%. In the same period, metaverse’ total app revenue was $650 million, of which gaming app revenue accounted for 94%, the report said.

Write to Han-Gyeol Seon at always@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.