Every Wednesday, we break down the latest data, research and financial results into digestible chunks.
Read on for the numbers you need to know about without the fluff.
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US iOS UA spend down 32% since Trump tariffs
Appsflyer’s new State of eCommerce App Marketing report shows that UA spend on iOS in the US has dropped by 32% since the introduction of Trump’s trade tariffs. Conversely, in the UK, Germany and France, UA spend has skyrocketed by seven times.
Meanwhile, China was behind 85% of user acquisition spend on iOS globally, a 9% increase year-on-year, largely driven by ecommerce apps from the country.
The report also states that remarketing costs companies $16.4bn during 2024, three-and-a-half times higher than UA spend. Android was behind 77% of remarketing spend, up from last year’s 64%.
June’s top performers, according to Appfigures
Tencent’s Honor of Kings was the highest-grossing game in the world during June, according to Appfigures, bringing in $137m for the month. That’s down by $17m on May’s earnings.
Second place went to Whiteout Survival from Century Games, which made $136m, the majority of which – $97m – came from iOS.
Last War was the highest-grossing game on Google Play, making $46m, while Roblox took second place on Android with $43m.
Meanwhile Block Blast was the most downloaded mobile game globally for June. Hungry Studio’s puzzler was installed 18m times during June, 11m of which came from Google Play. Second place went to Roblox, which saw a 1m download increase to reach 17m for the month; the UGC platform was the most downloaded game on Google Play for the month with 13m installs.
Ubisoft Q1 sales disappoint, mobile stays at 10% of revenue
Ubisoft’s Q1 sales came in below expectations as the firm continues to restructure. Q1 25-26 sales for the three months ended June 30 2025 came in at €310.8m (~$365.1m), down 3.9% year-on-year, and net bookings were €281.6m (~$330.8m), down 2.9% YoY.
Ubisoft blamed the results on Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege performing below expectations, “a partnership that is now expected to materialize in Q2” and unfavorable foreign exchange rates.
Mobile remains about 10% of that revenue, the report continued, and Ubisoft said it will soon be organised into ‘Creative Houses’ – separate, specialised groups within Ubisoft that will be in charge of certain parts of the business. Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot are co-CEOs of the first of these Creative Houses, responsible for the Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six franchises.
Net revenue dips 11% at Stillfront
Swedish games firm Stillfront has reported an 11% decline in revenue for its second quarter. The company brought in SEK 1.4bn ($150m) for the period, slightly lower than last year due to weaker revenue from Europe and North America that offset a 1.9% increase in MENA and APAC.
The company’s gross margin rose 2% to 80%, a result that Stillfront attributes to its growing direct-to-consumer business, which accounts for 39% of its net revenue.
As we reported yesterday, the roll up group also confirmed it had closed its Super Free Games studio and sunset Ellen’s Garden Restoration.
Net sales up 103% for MTG in Q2
Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus, Heroes of History and F1 Clash have driven a 103% increase in net sales at MTG. The company reported SEK 2.9bn ($301m) for the second quarter of this fiscal year, while adjusted EBITDA rose 50% to SEK 640m ($66.5m). For the first of this financial year, MTG reported SEK 5.468bn (~$579m) in net sales, an 89% increase year-on-year and 90% of the net sales the company made in the previous financial year in its entirety.
ByteDance reportedly acquires Flow Entertainment
Chinese media has reported that TikTok parent company ByteDance has acquired Warp Knights maker Flow Entertainment, as spotted by Niko Partners. No figure has been placed on the deal yet, nor has either party officially confirmed it has taken place. It also appears that ByteDance is preparing to make further acquisitions, says Niko.
My Talking Tom Friends 2 hits 6m downloads after one week
My Talking Tom Friends 2 has been installed over 6m times since its July 15th release date, according to Outfit7. The title was also the top game in 31 countries on Google Play, including the US, UK and Brazil.
Mamboo hits 1bn downloads
Games from Dubai-based Mamboo have been installed a total of 1bn times to date, says CEO Artur Bersenev.
The firm says it is achieving growth rates of between 30% and 50% across MAU, revenue, and profit. Mamboo has also added TowerLands to its portfolio, saying that the game boasts over 10m installs and $15m in gross revenue.
Left To Survive hits $151m lifetime revenue
Left to Survive has now been running for seven years, and has brought in over $151m in revenue, says My Games. The title has been downloaded over 79m times to date and is one of publisher My Games’ top five performing releases.
Ireland ends $16.6bn Apple tax case
Ireland’s Department of Finance has withdrawn €14.25bn ($16.6bn) from the escrow account related to Apple’s tax woes in the country, according to the Irish Times. So comes to the end a long antitrust case for the iPhone maker, which started back in 2013 when the EU began investigating whether the company was receiving advantageous tax rates.
