Our data digest column breaks down the latest data, research and financial results into digestible chunks.
Read on for the numbers you need to know about minus the fluff.
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Last War was February’s top earner
Last War: Survival took the top spot on February’s worldwide revenue chart, according to Appfigures estimates. While most of the top 10 games saw earnings decline from January to February, revenue for Funfly’s game rose to $115m (+9.5% month-over-month), which was enough to see it jump four places to lead the rankings last month.
Scopely’s Monopoly Go was a non-mover at number two with earnings of $115m (-5.7% MoM), ahead of Century Games’ Whiteout Survival, which moved up one spot to third place after grossing $114m (+0.9% MoM).
Tencent’s regular chart-topper, Honor of Kings, fell three places to number four with earnings of $113m (-22.6% MoM), while Dream Games’ Royal Match dropped two places to number five with revenue of $109m (-9.2% MoM).
Having collectively grossed over $1bn for the first time in January, last month the top 10 mobile games generated almost $1.1bn in net revenues.
Squid Game-inspired game breaks into February’s top downloads
Appfigures has also published its monthly download chart for February. Sybo’s Subway Surfers held the number one position with 17m downloads last month (-4m month-over-month), around 82% of which were on Android.
Hungry Studios’ Block Blast and Roblox were also non-movers at numbers two and three respectively, with both titles downloaded approximately 17m times (-3m MoM) too.
The highest new entry on the chart was Amobear Studio’ Squid Game-inspired 456 Run Challenge, which came in at number four with 13m downloads on Android. Voodoo’s Hole.io moved up two places to round off the top five with 12m downloads (+1m MoM)
The combined App Store and Google Play top 10 racked up an estimated 130m downloads in February (-7.1% MoM).
Mobile game revenue to top $100bn in 2025
The mobile games market is forecast to top $100bn in revenue this year for the first time since 2021, according to Newzoo data. Having generated $95bn in 2022 and 2023, the market is thought to have hit $98bn last year and is expected to reach $101bn in 2025.
The research firm predicts that growth will continue over the following couple of years too. In 2026, the mobile games market is forecast to hit $103bn in revenue, matching the previous record high set in 2021. And in 2027, the total is expected to reach $106bn.
Moon Active seeking new $15m office
Coin Master maker Moon Active is reportedly in talks to lease 25,000 square meters of office space in a new ‘mega project’ that’s in advanced construction in Givatayim, Israel.
According to Calcalist, the company would pay around $14.8m annually to rent the space in the Beyond Tower, which will be one of the country’s tallest buildings and is expected to be occupied in 2026.
PUBG Mobile dominates shooter market with $1.4bn annual revenue
Tencent’s PUBG Mobile is by far the highest earning mobile shooter, having generated $1.4bn in revenue between February 2024 and March 2025, according to Appmagic data.
During this period, its closest competitors were Activision’s Call of Duty: Mobile ($353m) and its own CrossFire Legends ($274m). Collectively these three games command over 50% of the shooter market, which this year has seen monthly revenue exceed $350m for the first time since 2021.
Adjust’s gaming insights report, digested
AppLovin-owned Adjust has published its latest gaming app insights report. Targeted at marketers, the 40-page report is stacked with data on installs, sessions, retention, revenue, UA costs, ad performance and ATT opt-in rates.
Adjust said that global installs per mille (IPM) climbed from 8.1 in 2023 to 8.86 in 2024. Racing games held the highest IPM, following an increase from 19.94 to 24.99, while music titles were the biggest riser, almost doubling to 14.41. Declines included hypercasual (14.12 to 10.09) and hybridcasual (8.42 to 6.33).
Cost per click (CPC) for gaming apps was flat in 2024 at a median of $0.03. Notable year-over-year declines included idle RPG ($0.43 to $0.24), RPG ($0.25 to $0.08) and strategy ($0.11 to $0.04). Increases included board games ($0.06 to $0.07) and swap games ($0.09 to $0.11).
The average click-through rate (CTR) rose from 7% in 2023 to 9% in 2024, according to Adjust. Racing games saw the largest year-over-year increase (18% to 26%). Hybridcasual games had the highest CTR of 28%, while the CTR for hypercasual games dipped from 31% to 26%.
The median cost per mille (CPM) fell to $3.41 last year. Genres that experienced declines included action, adventure, card, hypercasual, racing and strategy. Those which saw year-over-year growth included idle RPG, puzzle, sports, swap and trivia. Casino games saw the most notable increase, from $8.01 to $10.97.
All tracked gaming app genres saw year-over-year declines in median ad revenue per mile (ARPM), excluding simulation, which rose from $7.18 in 2023 to $7.45 in 2024. Notable declines included adventure ($6.97 to $4.22), board ($2.13 to $0.75) and hybridcasual ($3.55 to $2.70).
From 2023 to 2024, the average revenue per monthly active user (ARPMAU) dropped from $0.31 to $0.28. Genre specific declines included RPG ($4.12 to $3.63) and hypercasual ($0.18 to $0.15), while increases included casino ($1.39 to $1.92) and strategy ($0.86 to $1.18).
The average IAP per monthly active user (ARPMAU IA) fell from $0.83 in 2023 to $0.58 in 2024. Board games saw the largest decline ($0.74 to $0.30), while genres that experienced growth included action ($1.10 to $1.46), RPG ($5.36 to $6.48) and strategy ($2.60 to $5.34).
