MONOPOLY GO! is a mobile game that was launched on Android and iOS earlier this year by Scopely, the same developers behind Stumble Guys and Marvel Strike Force: Squad RPG. Since its release, the game has been shattering records in terms of sales and downloads, even beating mobile juggernauts such as Genshin Impact and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

According to PocketGamerBiz, MONOPOLY GO! achieved the largest casual game launch for a mobile game in the past 5 years. It has now risen to the top ranks of Malaysia’s Google Play Store, leading both the Top Free Games and Top Grossing categories. In Malaysia especially this game is incredibly popular, with AppMagic reporting that the game has even made more revenue than popular titles such as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Honkai: Star Rail in the month of August.

MONOPOLY GO!’s rapid and unexpected surge in popularity is truly remarkable. But what exactly has launched this game to achieve such monumental success?

Definitely Not Monopoly

If you’re like me and millions of others who went into MONOPOLY GO! thinking that it is basically Monopoly but on mobile, then you’ll surely be as surprised as the rest of us when you quickly realize after just playing the game for several minutes, that this is almost nothing like the Monopoly we are accustomed to. This game only shares a handful of similarities with the board game such as having to roll two dice, moving your piece around the board and not much else besides that. You don’t buy properties and take money from other players when they land on them and make them go bankrupt.

Instead, the game revolves around collecting sets of stickers. You gather these by rolling a pair of dice, maneuvering your piece on the board, upgrading your property, and constantly moving on to different cities. Occasionally, you’ll even have the chance to attack your friends’ properties for extra cash. The more friends you have, the better your experience becomes, with additional daily dice rolls and more chances to stack up the money by performing heists on your friends and destroying their properties.

All The Better For It

I believe these changes are the driving force behind MONOPOLY GO!’s huge surge of popularity among mobile gamers. Hasbro and Scopely used the already iconic MONOPOLY brand and fused it with addictive gameplay mechanics and systems commonly found in other mobile games, while adding their own unique twists to it.

One important factor in making any successful mobile game is that it should be easily playable anytime and anywhere. If MONOPOLY GO! were a direct copy of its board game counterpart, it wouldn’t have achieved the same level of success. After all, few would be interested in playing the traditional Monopoly on their smartphones for around three hours.

MONOPOLY GO! is the type of game you can open, play for a few minutes, then put aside as you carry on with your day. It has an addictive quality that keeps you engaged, allowing you to keep rolling the dice until they run out.

We spoke to one avid player of MONOPOLY GO to get their perspective on why they enjoy playing the game:

 The game just hits you with a dopamine rush a lot times when you achieve things like rolling the dice and landing exactly where I need to land, acquiring new stickers for my collection or when I successfully pull off a heist against my friends and get large amounts of money, it just makes me want to continue playing it and get more stuff. That’s why I have a hard time putting the game down.

On top of that, it is not even difficult to acquire new the dice; You can earn them while moving across the board and landing on certain parts or by inviting friends to join the game or you can purchase them through the in-game store. If you’ve exhausted your list of friends to invite, many dedicated players opt to join online communities, such as those on Facebook or Discord, to connect with others and gather more dice.

Monetization

If all of that seems like a hassle, there’s an easier option – purchasing dice bundles from the in-game store, which is where many players are investing their money and where the game a lot of its revenue. Dice bundles start at RM9.90 for 30 dice, with the priciest option being RM499.90 for 3200 dice. Apart from dice bundles, you can also buy in-game currency to speed up property upgrades. Additionally, there are packages available that offer a combination of dice, money, and random stickers that allows you to spend your way to completing your sticker sets.

Lots To Learn

There is no doubt that the massive commercial success of MONOPOLY GO! will have other brands rethink the way they bring their products to the mobile gaming market. Hasbro really managed to pull off something incredible with this game as it is a testament to how you translate an iconic IP into an easily accessible and addictive game for mobile without it just being a copy and paste of the same product.

It provides a contrasting viewpoint to the notion that only gacha games can achieve profitability, often through the strategy of timed exclusivity on items or characters, driving players to make in-game purchases hastily. MONOPOLY GO! goes on to emphasize that gamers won’t solely invest in free-to-play games for cosmetic motives, such as acquiring new character clothing or adding appealing characters to their collection of waifus or husbandos. They are also willing to spend money for the social aspects of gaming as well as evident in the significant number of players purchasing dice simply to continue playing the game.

This game exemplifies that going against mainstream and forging your own path can yield success, demonstrating that establishing your own trends can lead to substantial revenue generation.