Screwdom's Revenue Skyrockets to $14M Monthly Within 5 Months of Launch

Rollic has openly stated that in its hunt for the next hit mobile game, it cancels more than 1,000 projects every year. Voodoo, another hyper-casual giant, revealed it tests between 5,000 and 10,000 game prototypes annually. Because most casual gameplay mechanics can be easily copied, every studio’s priority is to spot the next breakout genre before competitors do.

In 2024, several new trends emerged in the global casual games market. Among them, screw puzzle games quickly stood out as the fastest-growing format, attracting development teams worldwide.

According to third-party data, the genre first gained traction overseas in December 2023. By September last year, top screw puzzle titles had already surpassed 30 million Installs globally, generating nearly $17 million in monthly in-app purchase revenue—a threefold increase within six months.

The global wave of screw puzzle games began with two breakout titles:

Wood Nuts & Bolts Puzzle by Vietnam’s ABI Games, which was the first to exceed $2.8 million in in-app purchases.

Screw Jam by Turkey’s Rollic Games, which reached around $7 million in monthly revenue.

Until recently, the screw puzzle market was dominated by 2D casual games. That changed when Vietnam-based Zego introduced Screwdom, a fully 3D screw puzzle game. The release sparked explosive growth. Launched in soft release in January 2024, Screwdom rapidly scaled revenue, surpassing an estimated $14 million in monthly in-app purchases by May.

With its unique mechanics and visual upgrade from 2D to 3D, Screwdom positioned itself as the benchmark of this fast-rising casual puzzle subgenre, proving that screw puzzle games are now one of the most promising formats in the hyper-casual space.

Until recently, Vietnam’s gaming industry had never produced a mobile title surpassing $14 million in monthly revenue. That changed with Screwdom, the first screw puzzle game to successfully make the leap into 3D. By reimagining a simple mechanic in three dimensions, Zego delivered Vietnam’s first true global hit.

A 3D Twist on the Screw Puzzle Formula

Traditional screw puzzle games are straightforward: in each level, players unscrew bolts layer by layer, placing different shapes and colors into the correct slots until the stacked structure is fully dismantled. Most of these games were 2D, requiring only flat-plane observation.

Screwdom transformed this formula by introducing 3D puzzle objects built from colorful blocks—ranging from ducks and cakes to robots, cameras, and even steaming baskets of dumplings. The shift to three-dimensional design not only made the visuals more engaging but also added depth to the puzzle-solving experience, giving players a more immersive and satisfying challenge.

With its creative 3D upgrade, Screwdom has set a new benchmark for the casual puzzle gaming market, proving that Vietnam can compete on the global stage in the hyper-casual space.

Screwdom’s 360° 3D Puzzle Challenge

In Screwdom, players rotate 3D objects in 360 degrees to find and match screws of different colors to the correct boxes. The complex shapes and stacked layers increase difficulty, requiring precise planning of screw movements. A wrong step can trigger a chain of mistakes, making the puzzle both strategic and challenging.

By upgrading the classic screw puzzle game into 3D, Screwdom delivers a more immersive and engaging experience, setting a new standard in the hyper-casual puzzle genre.

Tools and Accessibility Keep Players Engaged

Screwdom also introduces helpful tools such as screwdrivers, magnets, and hammers, along with ad-based rewards to unlock extra screw box slots. These features improve error tolerance and reduce player frustration, ensuring the game remains challenging without becoming discouraging.

This balance between difficulty and accessibility not only delivers a fresh 3D screw puzzle experience but also fueled Screwdom’s explosive growth, with monthly revenue surpassing $14 million.

Key Players in the Screw Puzzle Market

This is not Zego’s first foray into screw puzzle games. The genre’s main competitors include Zego’s Screw Out Jam Puzzle, Hong Kong’s Meta Slots’ Screwscapes, and Wanda Games’ Screw Pin Jam Puzzle.

By October 2023, after six months on the market, Screw Out Jam Puzzle had an estimated cumulative revenue of $7 million and millions of Installs. However, as a 2D game, it primarily followed the formula of Rollic Games’ top-grossing Screw Jam at the time, offering little innovation beyond the established mechanics.

Screwdom Puts Vietnam on the Mobile Gaming Map

The experience of releasing Screw Out Jam Puzzle made Zego realize how fiercely competitive the screw puzzle market had become, with many imitators launching in 2024. To seize this high-potential category, they released the 3D upgrade Screwdom early in the year. The game exploded upon release, reaching an estimated $14 million in monthly revenue within six months.

From Outsourcing to Global Mobile Hits

Vietnam’s gaming industry was long dominated by outsourcing during the PC era. Companies like VTC employed over 1,000 staff, while global giants like Ubisoft and Gameloft established local branches. Vietnam now has an estimated 100,000 programmers.

Most PC games were imported from China, Korea, and the West, such as League of Legends, Counter-Strike, and Swordman Online. After public protests during the “online gaming crisis” prompted stricter regulations, foreign developers had to partner with local publishers to release games.

This shift benefited local companies, allowing publishers like VNGGames—responsible for titles such as Roblox, PUBG MOBILE VN, Call of Duty Mobile VN, and Teamfight Tactics—to capture the largest share of Vietnam’s mobile market. These local firms gained experience from publishing international games, laying the foundation for success in the mobile era.

Flappy Bird Sparks a New Generation

In 2013, independent developer Dong Nguyen created Flappy Bird, which became a global sensation and earned an estimated $7,000 per day in ad revenue. Its success inspired a wave of local developers, giving rise to numerous small studios and startups, and fueling explosive growth in Vietnam’s hyper-casual and casual mobile game market.

Vietnamese Publishers Make Global Impact

Vietnamese casual game publishers have increasingly appeared on global Install charts. In 2024, five Vietnamese companies ranked among the top 25 global publishers by Installs: VNGGames, iKame Games, ABI Games Studio, Bravestars Games, and Xgame Global.

This reflects the growing influence of Vietnam’s hyper-casual and casual mobile games on the international market.

Vietnam’s Booming Mobile Game Market

The performance of Vietnam’s top 10 mobile game publishers in 2024 highlights the country’s rapidly growing mobile gaming scene. With nearly 2.4 billion Installs—a 67% increase since 2020—and $133 million in revenue, up 82% over the same period, Vietnam is clearly emerging as a major player in the global market.

According to Emily Nguyen, head of Google Ads, Games & Apps in Vietnam, the country has over 35,000 game programmers, a number approaching China’s scale.

Vietnamese developer Zego has also produced multiple casual hits with over 10 million Installs, including:

Manage Supermarket Simulator (Android Installs: 8 million)

Gangster Crime, Mafia City (over 20 million monthly Installs with a minimalist art style)

Screw Out Jam Puzzle, the previously mentioned 2D screw puzzle game

These successes demonstrate Vietnam’s growing expertise in hyper-casual and casual mobile games, laying the foundation for titles like Screwdom to achieve global breakthroughs.

Screwdom Sparks Vietnam’s First $14M Mobile Hit

In 2024, Zego launched the 3D screw puzzle game Screwdom, and within just six months, it became Vietnam’s first mobile title to surpass $14 million in monthly revenue, marking a major milestone for Vietnamese companies in the mobile era.

The explosive growth of screw puzzle games after moving from 2D to 3D mirrors the trajectory of match-3 games. After 2D hits, developers launched 3D versions, which quickly dominated the market—but success depended heavily on the publisher’s distribution capabilities.

For example, Miniclip pioneered 3D match-3 with Triple Match 3D, followed by Zynga’s Peak Games with Match Factory!, which reached over $28 million in peak monthly revenue, proving the market value of 3D iterations.

Many hyper-casual hits are born not from entirely new mechanics but from iterating on existing 2D gameplay, where a single breakout title drives a wave of imitators and triggers a genre-wide boom.

Currently, upgrading promising 2D mechanics to 3D to offer richer and more engaging experiences is one of the fastest ways to achieve category success. While many 2D casual hits remain popular, developers must assess whether a 3D iteration can uncover new opportunities and act quickly to capitalize.

The images in this article are official screenshots released by iKame Games.