‘Fate/Grand Order’ Has Made So Much Money It’s Insane

Did you know that Fate/Grand Order has made $2.6 billion since 2015? That’s a lot of money for a mobile game — especially a Japanese one.

According to SuperData, mobile games hauled in $61.3 billion. Fate/Grand Order was the only Japanese game to rank in the top 10. Pokémon’s Go, which is developed by the American-based Niantic, was the only other Japanese franchise.

Fate/Grand Order wasn’t destined to be a sure-fire success. Fate/ is a huge multi-media franchise in Japan, but fans instantly think of the various light novels and anime adaptations. A handful of games have been developed, but outside of the light novels, none have had much lasting appeal — until Fate/Grand Order.

Kinoko Nasu first envisioned the game as an MMO, but the concept died during production and was later repurposed as the Fate/Apocrypha light novel series. It wasn’t until 2014 that Aniplex was able to convince Nasu to revisit the canceled game project, which would take shape as Fate/Grand Order.

Gacha games first entered the public consciousness with Puzzles & Dragons and Monster Strike. These types of games are popular for their simple gameplay and addictive micro-transactions that can score players rare characters. Fate/Grand Order follows this model, but with a heavy emphasis on story.

Nasu and his team approached Fate/Grand Order as another mainline entry into the franchise as opposed to the hack-n-slash and fighting games of past. This included new scenarios, new (and old) servants, and expanded lore. The approached has appealed to new and old Fate/ fans alike, making it one of the most downloaded mobile games around the world.

As of October 2018, there have been over 32 million downloads worldwide and the app earns about $2.5 million a day. According to App Annie, the average Fate/Grand Order user spends more money than any other mobile game player.

The spending power of Fate/Grand Order fans has been huge for Sony’s Aniplex, helping them to double their profits. Aniplex is planning on producing two new Fate/Grand Order anime projects as a result.

Earlier this month, Nasu reflect about the state of the game in an interview with 4Gamer. After saying that the game’s story will end with Arc 2, he provided not-so-subtle hints about new gameplay features he’d want to see in the future. Fate/Grand Order 2 hasn’t been announced, but Aniplex won’t slaughter this cash cow any time soon.