Arcade Genres Success Tier-list

Arcade Genres Success Tier-list

Based on the analysis of 1,000+ arcade games over the past year that reached at least 1M+ downloads

Here’s the 2025 success rate tier list:

🟢 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 (>𝟳% 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲)
Best genres for newcomers

𝗗𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
• Kick the Buddy: Second Kick
• Kick the Buddy — Fun Action Game
• Solar Smash

𝗦𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
• Phone Case DIY
• Ice Cream Inc. ASMR
• Dessert DIY

——

🟡 𝗠𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 (𝟱–𝟳% 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲)
Growing genres with solid traction

𝗙𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
• Spider Fighter 3
• Shadow Fight 2
• I, The One — Fun Fighting Game

𝗘𝗮𝘁 & 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄
• Hungry Shark Evolution
• Attack Hole
• Hungry Shark World

——

🟠 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 (𝟯–𝟱% 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲)
Tougher to stand out, but still viable

𝗣𝗶𝗻𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹
• Pinball Masters
• Pinball: Smash Arcade
• Space Pinball

.𝗶𝗼
• Bridge Race
• Hole.io
• Snake Clash!

𝗜𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲
• Pizza Ready!
• My Perfect Hotel
• Outlets Rush

𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿 / 𝗜𝗱𝗹𝗲
• Family Life
• Idle Bank Tycoon
• Money Empire

——

🔴 𝗟𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 (𝟭–𝟯% 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲)
Highly saturated genres with limited upside

𝗥𝗵𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗺
• Magic Tiles 3
• Tiles Hop: EDM Rush
• Piano Game: Classic Music

𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴
• Fishing and Life
• Fishing Adventure
• Creatures of the Deep

𝗥𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿
• Subway Surfers
• Build A Queen
• Subway Princess Runner

——

⚫ 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 (<𝟭% 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲)
Genres to avoid unless highly differentiated

𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲: 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿
• Going Balls
• Hunter Assassin
• Mob Control

Building an arcade game in 2025?

• Start with Destruction or Satisfaction mechanics
• Think twice before diving into Runners or Rhythm games

—
Data Source: AppMagic