Gakuen Idolmaster got 1.5x Squad Busters’ downloads during its launch month

• Gakuen Idolmaster surpassed 1.5 million domestic downloads in its launch month, beating Squad Busters' one million in the period
• The title topped Play Store revenue charts in Japan from May 20th to May 28th

Japanese simulation game Gakuen Idolmaster surpassed 1.5 million domestic downloads in its launch month, surpassing even Supercell’s Squad Busters in Japan between May 16th and June 15th, 2024.

According to Sensor Tower, Gakuen Idolmaster accounted for 40% of publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment’s domestic mobile revenue during its debut month and spent nine consecutive days at the top of Google Play’s revenue chart in Japan.

It donned the revenue crown from May 20th to May 28th on Android, but saw more modest success on iOS, only maintaining a top three ranking on iOS for eight days during the May-June period.

The new star

Gakuen Idolmaster is the latest entry in the popular idol training franchise The Idolmaster - a series with a near two-decade legacy across printed media, anime and games. The IP has seen multiple mobile iterations since 2015’s The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls Starlight Stage, with the latest title prior to Gakuen being The Idolmaster Shiny Colors: Song for Prism, released in November 2023.

Song for Prism was developed directly by Bandai Namco, where Gakuen Idolmaster was developed instead by QualiArts, hence their release dates being only six months apart. Both titles were published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.

And so far, Gakuen Idolmaster has been received incredibly positively by fans with a majority five-star rating across stores. During its first month this was as high as a 90% five-star approval rating on Apple’s App Store, but surprisingly, the idol title only managed a 65% five-star rating on the Play Store despite its much stronger revenue ranking there.

The title’s 1.5 million downloads across the two major app stores also make Gakuen the most downloaded game of the period in Japan, even significantly outperforming Squad Busters during the month.

Supercell’s long-awaited title had received one million downloads in Japan by June 15th, only two-thirds of Gakuen Idolmaster’s achievement; it should be noted, however, that Squad Busters was still in soft launch until May 28th, 12 days after Gakuen’s official launch.

Following Gakuen Idolmaster and Squad Busters, Isekai: Slow Life was the third most-downloaded game of the period, followed by Wuthering Waves and Last War: Survival Game.

Sensor Tower attributed Gakuen Idolmaster’s early success to three key factors - effective advertising campaigns, the popularity of its source IP, and its "perfection as a mobile game".

The simulation title was also among May's top 10 highest-grossing mobile games in Japan, achieved despite its release midway through the month.