The Monetization Engine Behind Magic Sort’s Rise
The Mobile Ad Monetization Newsletter #23
What stood out to me this week while digging into the sorting genre was just how much of a competitive advantage Magic Sort by Grand Games has.
Over the last 30 days, the top 10 sorting games collectively garnered 29 million downloads and 15 million daily active users (DAU). These games generated a total of $7.7 million in in-app purchases (IAPs). Magic Sort, by Grand Games, pulled in $3.3 million in IAPs or 43% of the top 10’s total IAP revenue, from just 478k DAU (only 3.4% of the top 10's total DAU).
That level of monetization efficiency is rare in the sorting genre—and impressive, to say the least. I calculated the total revenue of other category leaders, such as Bus Out (iKame) and Hexa Sort (Lion Studios), to showcase their total revenue. Although the games monetize in a very different way and acquire users at varying prices, the ARPU numbers paint an awe-inspiring picture for Magic Sort.
Magic Sort
Revenue: $4.15M ($3.3M IAP & $1 million IAA)
DAU: 478,000
ARPU: $8.68
Hexa Sort
Revenue: $13.7M ($1.4M IAP & $12.3M IAA)
DAU: 3.2M
ARPU: $4.28
Bus Out
Revenue: $4.1M ($400K IAP& $3.7M IAA)
DAU: 2.1M
ARPU: $1.95
💰 How Magic Sort Monetizes
Magic Sort’s core IAP mechanic is simple yet powerful: it monetizes failure at the perfect time.
Here’s how it works:
Trigger: When a player reaches an unsolvable state, the game instantly detects it.
Offer: At that exact moment, the player is shown a “+1 Bottle,” a consumable that allows them to continue the level, providing more flexibility.
Purchase: Buying the “+1 Bottle” costs gold, which can be earned or bought.
Why It Works: Unlike competitors like Colorwood, which don’t immediately offer solutions after failure, Magic Sort leans into the tension of the moment, offering a way out just when the player is most likely to pay.
The "+1 Bottle" tied to level failure is the monetization engine. It’s a clever use of urgency that fits perfectly within the monetization playbooks of puzzle games.
As much as I love games that monetize purely through ads, it's clear that winning in the mobile gaming genre today means mastering hybrid monetization strategies. Magic Sort shows that combining well-timed IAP offers with innovative design can generate outsized revenue, even without massive scale.
We covered Magic Sort in more depth on a recent episode of 2.5 Gamers, if you want to learn more.
💰Great Content 💰
Another day, another 4X game is scaling. Lands of Jail is a 4X prison simulation game. The game incorporates familiar mechanics, such as idle simulation from Frozen City, and survival aspects reminiscent of Whiteout Survival.
🎯The Cinderella of the Week🎯
Miracles still happen! Despite the uber-competitive landscape in mobile, solo developers can still scale their IAA monetized games to crazy levels. This section is to salute you. Why? Because everyone loves a Cinderella story… that’s why.
This week’s Cinderella of the week follows the Lands of Jail theme and is dedicated to the prison theme in general. After seeing an absolute flurry of prison-related games, it’s clear that this theme converts super well in UA campaigns.
For More Incredible Insights
Try 2.5 Gamers on YouTube!
