5.7x Revenue Boost by Clash Royale?
Oops! They Did It Again! 🕺
This September marked a new daily revenue peak for Clash Royale, Supercell’s real-time tactics hit launched back in 2016. It’s rare to see a nine-year-old title bounce back so strongly: the game generated $6.6M in a single day, surpassing its previous record of $4.9M in daily revenue set right after its global launch.
And it wasn’t just a sudden spike: the game had been growing steadily since its February low of $12M, then accelerated in May and reached the peak of $67.8M in September, showing tremendous 5.7x growth! In terms of monthly revenue, it’s not the highest figure for Clash Royale historically, but still an impressive comeback by any standard.
Meanwhile, the game’s installs are rising, too, showing that the team has been actively refining its UA strategy instead of relying solely on the loyal fan base built over the years. With over 12M downloads in October, Clash Royale hit its biggest surge since 2017, proving that the title can still attract a fresh wave of players.
Yep, Supercell’s done this before: In May 2024, Brawl Stars reached an all-time high of $70.5M in monthly revenue after a few major updates and refined LiveOps. Two legendary comebacks show this is no coincidence, but a deliberate strategy.
In a fast-moving industry obsessed with new hits and trends, bringing old classics back on the growth track is a real challenge. So, what exactly fueled the rise of Clash Royale? There were two waves of major updates that made all this possible: one in June and another in August. Let’s analyse them both!
June Update = +45% MoM revenue growth
In early 2025, Supercell made smaller adjustments—like removing chest queues, timers, and Banner Tokens—that laid the groundwork for a huge transformation. But the real turning point came with the late-June update, which reshaped the in-game economy and progression systems.
What Changed:
• Card Mastery rewards were reduced and standardized for both regular and Champion cards, while Card Mastery tasks were made completable in multiple game modes.
• Gem distribution was reworked: a significant number of Gems were moved from Card Mastery to Trophy Road milestones.
• A new mode, Merge Tactics, introduced a 4-player auto-battler with short, fast rounds and a drafting phase.
To see how these changes reshaped player experience and monetization, let’s break them down in detail. The first major upgrade affected Card Mastery: a feature that rewards players for using specific cards in battles. Now that rewards are standardized across all cards, the progression is clearer, while refined Card Mastery tasks encourage players to explore various battle modes.
On top of all these adjustments, the new Merge Tactics mode introduced short 4-player auto-battles, where players draft cards in the beginning, and then rounds continue until there’s only one winner left.
Merge Tactics introduced more variety to the gameplay, deepening engagement and providing new monetization hooks. Alongside this new mode, Clash Royale also introduced a line-up of special offers with upgrades and skins meant exclusively for Merge Tactics. While these IAPs gave players something fresh, they didn’t outshine the old ones, as the game’s classic battle pass still brings in 35% of its revenue!
The result: Clash Royale generated $45.8M in July, marking a +45% growth compared to the previous month. That’s a huge leap for a nine-year-old title that was earning under $15M per month in early 2025. And the momentum kept building.
August Update = +38% MoM revenue growth
Supercell didn’t stop there, aiming to take their established hit to another level. The August update demonstrated the studio’s clear intent to continue refining the in-game balance and expanding gameplay diversity.
What Changed:
• Classic 2v2 mode returned, and wins in this mode reward players with Cards or lucky drops instead of Trophies.
• Merge Tactics was rebalanced: Undead trait got stronger bonuses, while Juggernaut trait gained enhanced shields.
Another mode has been added to the core, featuring simple mechanics similar to the regular gameplay but tapping into Clash Royale’s strong social foundation. It’s something both nostalgic and refreshing that could potentially bring back old players who miss the classic gameplay or appeal to the new ones. With no Trophies at stake, the Classic 2v2 mode eases competitive pressure while still offering valuable rewards.
However, in this update, the spotlight wasn’t only on the new feature: the team improved deep systems tied to Merge Tactics, making some traits used in the mode more powerful and valuable for players.
The result: revenue jumped +38% MoM, surpassing $63M in August, while strengthening the systems that fuel sustainable growth.
Key Takeaways from Clash Royale’s 5.7x Growth
When a game shows impressive growth and multiplies its revenue, the reasons are rarely simple. It’s usually the result of multiple teams working from different departments mastering their craft. In this piece, we focus on one part of that success: the core gameplay and in-game economy updates. And this is what they brought to Clash Royale:
- Reduced reward inflation, creating a steadier sense of progress and improving long-term retention.
- Better gameplay balance = healthier spend, with fairer gameplay and more meaningful progression motivating players to upgrade, invest, and stay longer.
- New daily touchpoints introduced through fresh modes keep players active and spending.
- Consistent engagement reinforced by more gameplay variety and clearer progression.
Once again, Supercell performs the art of comebacks and shows how lasting the success can be in mobile gaming!
