UNBALANCE reported that for “Go Sil,” a mobile game developed in collaboration with the Nihon Ki-in, the number of new users increased 2.8 times over the nine-day period from October 16 to 24 compared to the previous nine days.During this period, Go became a trending topic on X, and a steampunk competitive board game based on Go, titled “Factory Go,” was released.
An “Go Boom” on X
In October, Go became a hot topic on X. While Go is widely recognized as one of the classic board games, the number of Go players in Japan has reportedly declined to about 10 percent of its peak in 1982.
The main reason cited in the aforementioned discussion for this situation was that the rules—such as the conditions for victory—are difficult to understand; as a result, numerous Go games emphasizing ease of understanding have emerged.
One game that attracted particular attention was the steampunk-style “Factory Go,” released by Hiraji on October 21 (with the official version released on October 24).Players place factories—which represent Go stones—on the board. The basic rule is that since all four sides are exhaust vents, the factory will explode if all openings are blocked; the goal is to evolve into a large factory that cannot be detonated by forming a “two-eye” shape.
On October 27, the developer reported that the game had surpassed 10,000 visitors and that the cumulative number of games played was nearing 35,000.
In addition to these Go-based games, on October 27, Sansan Yuzuru released “Gography,” which allows players to intuitively grasp territory through structures, and on October 29, Isamu Remanis released“Go on the Cliff,” which he described as a “dopamine-inducing concept” inspired by “Factory Go.”
Nihon Ki-in’s Official App Reports “Encouraging Signs”
UNBALANCE, the developer of the Nihon Ki-in’s official app “Go-Shiru,” announced that—with the aforementioned “Go boom” on X in mind—the number of new users increased 2.8 times during the nine-day period from October 16 to 24 compared to the previous nine days.They also announced that the one-day retention rate increased 1.4-fold, the number of first-time in-app purchasers rose 7.8-fold, and revenue grew 3.2-fold.
Citing the rise in retention rates, the company stated that this was not merely a temporary surge driven by the buzz, commenting, “While ongoing research is needed to assess the impact on the overall Go-playing population, we view this as a positive sign for Go, which has been experiencing a prolonged decline.”
“Go Sil” is currently available for mobile devices (iOS/Android) as a free-to-play app.
