‘Monopoly’ becomes a mobile games juggernaut

Culver City-based Scopely scores big with version aimed at casual players.

- By SAMANTHA MASUNAGA

KELVIN KUO Los Angeles Times

"MONOPOLY GO!" brings in more than $2 billion in annual revenue and has been downloaded more than 300 million times globally.

Passing “Go” has become especially lucrative for mobile game publisher Scopely.

The Culver City-based Scopely launched “Monopoly Go!” in 2023, betting fans of the classic board game would flock to a mobile version aimed at casual gamers.

By 2025, “Monopoly Go!” had accrued $6 billion in lifetime in-app purchase revenue, becoming the fastest free mobile game to do so, according to app analytics firm Sensor Tower.

This summer, the app is expected to reach $8 billion in lifetime revenue, the company says, solidifying “Monopoly Go!” as Scopely’s biggest game. It will reach that milestone faster than the company’s popular “Pokémon Go.”

The company, which has offices in London; Shanghai; Barcelona, Spain; and other cities, declined to disclose its total profit.

As overall downloads in the mobile game market have stagnated and in-app purchases and retention become the main drivers of growth, Scopely has hit on an age-old Hollywood strategy — using known franchises and intellectual property to bring out fans.