Burger Please!, world’s third-most downloaded app in 2023

A hyper-casual game developed by South Korea’s fledgling gaming publisher Supercent was the world’s third-most downloaded newly launched app last year, just behind global super apps Meta Platforms Inc.’s Threads and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, names splashed across headlines upon their debut.

According to data from mobile app market intelligence AppMagic on Tuesday, Supercent’s Burger Please! has been downloaded 83.81 million times since its launch a year ago, ranking third on the global top new app list for 2023.

Meta’s Threads was the most downloaded app among newly launched apps last year, with 253.39 million downloads, and the runner-up was OpenAI’s ChatGPT, with 163.05 million.

Of new game titles rolled out last year, Burger Please! ranked top.

The Korean game is a hyper-casual game, which is easy to play with simple and minimalistic user interfaces and is usually free.

It is a management simulation game where players become the owners of a burger joint and grow it into a successful franchise.

Its simple gameplay mechanics have largely contributed to its popularity in line with the latest trend in the gaming industry, a shift away from complicated massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) with fancy graphics by global gamers, said market analysts.

“With hyper-casual games, which can be developed in about three months per game, we can promptly respond to new trends in the market,” said Gong Joon-sik, chief executive officer of Supercent. “We developed Burger Please! after learning that 'burger' is the most frequently searched-for word online in the US.”

With a focus on hyper-casual games, the company’s fast-paced game development has allowed it to develop about 300 games since its inception in 2021, of which about 150 games were published.

Its five games joined the world’s top 100 game app club last year.

The cumulative downloads of Supercent’s published apps also reached 210 million, allowing the company to become Korea’s top app provider after beating the country’s internet giant Naver Corp.'s app developing subsidiary Snow Corp. and digital comic platform Naver Webtoon, as well as Samsung Electronics Co.

ROSY OUTLOOK FOR HYPER-CASUAL GAMES

Supercent is expected to enjoy the hyper-casual game fad as the global hyper-casual gaming market is projected to grow further.

Hyper-casual games are easy to access and play like short-form content, which has soared in popularity in recent years after the arrival of the short video platform TikTok.

Supercent considers TikTok as its biggest competitor, not gaming companies. It estimates that TikTok and hyper-casual games have a 70% overlap in their user bases.

“Hyper-casual games are growing in popularity partly due to the backlash against MMORPGs requiring greater concentration and complicated game skills,” said an official in the Korean gaming industry.  

Supercent relies on ad revenue from its diverse apps to make profits.

Its easy-to-play games are popular with broader audiences, allowing the company to use its games as marketing channels.

Games are also developed based on the results of market surveys for new demands.

NEW MARKET, NEW OPPORTUNITY

The content creator boom in YouTube is also expected to create a new business opportunity in the hyper-casual game market.

Thanks to the growing application of generative artificial intelligence in the gaming industry, it is becoming easier to develop games.

Korea's major game developer and publisher NCSOFT Corp., Naver’s cloud computing unit Naver Cloud and HYBE Co.'s AI audio subsidiary Supertone have already developed or released AI tools that can be used in app development.

Supercent plans to expand the related business to provide game creators with a place to release their apps, said Gong.

Write to Ju-Hyun Lee at 2juhyun@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.