8 Steam Games That Could Inspire the Next Mobile Hit

The Mobile Ad Monetization Newsletter #23

As the competition in mobile games continues to grow. We’ve noticed an interesting trend. Did you know that some of the most successful mobile games of 2024 and 2025 were actually copies or heavily inspired by Steam games? Check out this list of 8 Steam games that could likely become the next hit on mobile.

• Schedule I: Kicking off our list is what looks like the biggest game of Steam Q1 2025. This drug empire simulator could really capitalize on the “supermarket simulator” trend, but with a drug twist. Its strategic depth and management elements make it a prime candidate for mobile adaptation.

• FlyKnight: Staying in the first-person view, we have FlyKnight, an old-school RPG dungeon crawler with intriguing insect visuals. (Though we’re already considering the CPIs might be too on this one!). Its concise gameplay sessions and cooperative features make it suitable for mobile gamers.

• Nubby’s Number Factory: This game has the potential to elevate the plinko-style genre with its rogue-lite mechanics, a combination that consistently performs well on mobile. With over 50 unique items to enhance gameplay, its addictive mechanics and progression system are tailor-made for mobile gaming.

• Spilled!: This one looks like it was literally created based on successful Gold & Goblins resource creatives. From a CPI perspective, this game should perform exceptionally well. Relaxing gameplay, boat upgrades, and resource management align with the cozy gaming trend gaining traction on mobile platforms.

• Aviassembly: A plane construction simulator with a solid cargo-moving progression. It’s already receiving great feedback, making it a strong contender for mobile. Its open-world mechanics and progression systems offer a sandbox experience that could work on mobile. You’d need to adapt the steering mechanism.

• Haste: This game perfectly translates the speed fantasy, reminiscent of some classic endless runner games. With a focus on mastering movement, an iteration of this game could thrive on mobile devices.

• Magic Archery: This title offers a very interesting spin on the upgrading idler genre, a concept that’s always popular on mobile.

• Webfishing: An interesting social space with surprisingly massive engagement. Honestly, we’re still trying to wrap our heads around how much traction this “game” has, but it’s definitely worth watching! Its social elements and casual gameplay make it an excellent fit for mobile platforms.

Keen for more insights and four more games that we think can be the next mobile hits? Check out our full new episode of “Full Steam Ahead” where we cover all the trending Steam games that have the potential to make it on mobile.

💰Great Content 💰

New to the Industry? Are you new to in-game advertising in general, or are you unsure how to set up MAX mediation correctly? Don’t worry, 2.5 Gamers have you covered! In this 25-minute podcast episode, I cover all the basics, such as setting up an app, how to read data, and how to run AB tests. Don’t leave money on the table by getting the basics wrong!

🎯The Cinderella of the Week🎯

Miracles still happen! Despite the uber-competitive landscape in mobile, solo developers can still scale their IAA monetized games to crazy levels. This section is to salute you. Why? Because everyone loves a Cinderella story… that’s why.

Okay, this is not a solo developer, but Jindoblu still deserves recognition for its beast of a title, Offline Games—No Wi-Fi. It’s been nearly two years since this title launched, offering a range of hyper-casual games with no ads. This game’s DAU has constantly been rising and is now close to 10 million DAU (650k users in the USA).

The game is monetized mainly with Rewarded Ads and shows Intersitials ads to cohorts of users after D7. Assuming that 40% of users watch an average of 4 Rewarded ads daily and adjusting for organic eCPMs, Offline Games generates about $80k/day from Rewarded ads. Assuming 30% of users see three interstitial ads, adds another $40k/day to $120k/day or $43 million per year.

Offline Games did a classic roll-up and took the best-performing hypercasual games in the market: Water Sort, Fruit Merge, Backgammon, etc., removed all the intrusive ads, centralized, and made all gameplay free but available with optional hints that are activated with tokens.

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