Habby may not be a permanent fixture at the center of the mobile gaming industry, but whenever it drops a new title, the spotlight inevitably follows.

Its latest release, Wittle Defender, launched globally in early June and quickly climbed into the top 10 on the iOS grossing charts across Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan of China. According to Sensor Tower, the game has generated $2 million in iOS revenue over the past two weeks.

Following the successes of Capybara Go! and Archero 2, Wittle Defender marks Habby's third breakout title within a single year. It's almost as if the studio has cracked a repeatable formula for success—one that consistently delivers solid results.

Despite feeling familiar in both gameplay and marketing approach, Wittle Defender is once again striking a chord with the market. So what makes Habby's formula work so reliably? And how far can this strategy go?

01.Familiar Structure in a New Outfit

At first glance, Wittle Defender looks and plays differently from Habby's past hits. Its visual design leans into a rounded, cutesy 3D cartoon style, while the gameplay introduces an uncommon "center defense" format, where up to five heroes form a team stationed in the middle of the screen, fending off waves of enemies from all directions.

But for anyone familiar with Habby's portfolio, the experience quickly feels familiar.

The gameplay minimizes tactical control—players don't position units based on terrain, nor do they manually trigger skills. Instead, progress hinges on selecting one of three random cards offered at each level-up, used to enhance hero skills or summon additional characters.

After upgrading a single skill three times, a higher-tier upgrade becomes available. Deploying more heroes increases EXP gain but reduces the chance of drawing cards for that same character, requiring thoughtful resource planning early on.

In essence, the game offers a light-touch roguelike tower defense experience layered with randomness and strategy—core to Habby's tried-and-true “light gameplay + roguelike mechanics” combo.

Outside of battle, a heavy progression system kicks in, complete with gacha-based hero collection, upgrades, gear, and runes. A randomized talent system adds variability, and additional systems like artifacts unlock over time. Monetization follows a hybrid model.

While the content may be slightly re-skinned, Wittle Defender still firmly fits within Habby's templated loop: casual gameplay on the surface, wrapped around deeper RPG-style progression systems.

02.The Habby Method, from Pre-Launch to Performance Marketing

From pre-registration to paid user acquisition, Wittle Defender follows Habby's signature playbook. In Taiwan of China, a key market, pre-registrations opened on April 10—about two months before launch. To build early hype, Habby launched prize giveaway campaigns on social platforms and began ramping up ad spend.

According to AppGrowing, ad creatives surged from under 50 daily groups to nearly 1,000 in mid-April. This volume held steady for over a month. On launch day, daily ad creatives exploded to over 5,000, peaking just under 10,000.

Source: AppGrowing

The same blueprint was applied to Capybara Go! and Archero 2: open pre-registration about a month before launch, drive engagement through prize campaigns, and scale up paid acquisition in sync with launch hype.

Habby also recycles successful ad creatives. One notable example: a man's walk transforms from timid to swagger-filled, symbolizing the player's journey from novice to powerful hero. The meme-like humor, paired with gameplay visuals, delivers the core power fantasy in an instantly shareable format.

Predictably, variations of this creative appear across multiple Habby titles.

On the influencer front, Wittle Defender leaned heavily into livestreams. From June 6–8, Habby invited two streamers each night to preview the game live, generating buzz. Post-launch, even more streamers joined the rotation.

In total, over ten KOLs were involved—signaling Habby's growing investment in influencer-driven promotion. This same approach was tested successfully with Archero 2 and appears to be a new fixture in Habby's strategy.

With similar game mechanics and overlapping markets, Habby can reuse what works with only minor adjustments—enabling a repeatable, scalable launch model for future releases.

03.Will the Template Hold?

With $2 million in revenue just two weeks post-launch, Wittle Defender is no flop—but it falls short of its predecessors.

Capybara Go! earned $10 million in its first two weeks, while Archero 2 pulled in $6.6 million in its debut week alone. It's too soon to judge Wittle Defender's full performance, but its opening numbers hint at diminishing returns.

Still, as long as the "light roguelike core + deep progression" formula continues to deliver, Habby will likely stick with it. Yet the landscape is shifting. Heavy genres are adopting more casual mechanics, hyper-casual studios are moving toward long-term live ops, and the rise of mini-games is squeezing the mid-core casual space Habby occupies.

In mature markets like Taiwan of China, Hong Kong, Japan, and the U.S., user growth has plateaued. Most of the available audience has seen these tactics before—and their tolerance for "template games" may be wearing thin.

Habby's strategy, while effective, may face greater resistance ahead. But given their deep understanding of the mid-core casual genre, it's safe to assume they'll continue producing "safe bet" titles. Even so, fans and industry watchers alike are hoping for the next Archero or Capybara Go!