Puzzle Genres Tier-list

Puzzle Genres Tier-list Based on the analysis of 1,000+ of games over the past year that reached at least 1M+ downloadsHere’s the 2025 success rate tier list:🟢𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 (>𝟳% 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲) These genres work best for newcomers𝗔𝗹𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘆 (https://lnkd.in/g8kgP9Nd) • Infinite Craft by Neal • Magic Merge: Endless Craft • Emoji Kitchen – DIY Emoji Mix 𝗟𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝘂𝘇𝘇𝗹𝗲𝘀 (https://lnkd.in/gpNDWevH) • Brain Test: Tricky Puzzles • Thief Puzzle: To Pass a Level • Braindom: Brain Games Test 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 (https://lnkd.in/g3adAEGV) • Happy Color: Coloring Book • Paint by Number • Pixel Art – Color by Number ---🟡𝗠𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 (𝟱–𝟳% 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲) Still plenty of room to grow𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝟯𝗗 (https://lnkd.in/gYVnp_et) • Match Factory! • Project Match: ASMR Salon • Tile Master Pro 𝗦𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘇𝘇𝗹𝗲𝘀 (https://lnkd.in/gfzxtNgc) • Hexa Sort • Goods Sort • Goods Puzzle: Sort Challenge 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝘂𝘇𝘇𝗹𝗲𝘀 (https://lnkd.in/g_Pg6Jyz) • Wood Nuts & Bolts • Wood Screw Puzzle • Screw […]

Anton Slashcev April 9

Highlights

Long Ads, Tiny Close Buttons: Maximize CPM Without Losing Players

You’ve spent hours crafting a beautiful game that hooks players, but now it’s time to make money. The tiny, tiny close button — often hidden in the farthest corner of the screen — is a seemingly innocent little dot that holds the fate of your game’s retention and monetization. Every time an interstitial ad pops up, it takes multiple taps, finger gymnastics, and maybe even some squinting. As the ads get longer, your players’ frustration grows. They’re desperate to close the ad, but hey—your CPM is up! It seems like a win, right? But here’s the big question: How long can you really stretch those ads, and how tiny can that close button be, before your players hit their breaking point and rage quit? It’s a tricky balancing act, like playing with fire—walking a fine line between keeping the revenue […]

Ezgi Dogan April 9

Journal

War Robots has never received the credit it deserves.

War Robots has never received the credit it deserves for its financial and design achievements. Launching a PvP combat experience in 2014 with PS2-level graphics using virtual dual analog sticks seemed skeptical at best, yet the team didn't just create a "Forever Franchise"; it grew into one. A former Scopely PM described their strategy as taking "C/C+ games and liveop'ing them into B/B+" products. Something similar has happened here, with the franchise catering to a sticky core audience, expanding it over time, and becoming an A product. IAP Revenue is astonishingly stable despite massive changes in download composition (I'm sure the Indian shift is unrelated to geopolitics...). War Robots successfully captured not only Eastern European tankies but also the Japanese and US players. Its recent relaunch in China also appears more promising than its initial entry.Initially, compared to World of Tanks […]

Phillip Black April 9

Journal

Before Development, Validate Your Game Concept

Developing a new mobile game is one of the riskiest and most expensive moves a studio can make. Especially in the free-to-play (F2P) space, where competition is fierce, user expectations are higher than ever, and marketing is crazy expensive, making a wrong bet can mean burning hundreds of thousands of dollars—or more—with nothing to show for it. That’s why concept validation isn’t just a smart move. It’s essential. The Harsh Reality of Mobile Game Development Let’s talk about numbers: According to a SuperScale study, 83% of mobile games fail within three years of launch. Only 2 to 3 out of 10 soft-launched games ever make it to a global launch. According to a study by Go Practice, 2.73% of all mobile games released between 2016-2023 were able to generate at least $100k 12 months after the launch (study did not consider ad revenue). According to expert […]

Jukka Hilvonen April 9

Journal

Parental controls in Mobile Games?

Parental controls in mobile games? Now that's a smart move! 👏 Just noticed that Royal Match has a built-in parental control option, allowing parents to set PIN-protected restrictions on in-app purchases and chat. With younger audiences engaging more with mobile games, having built-in safeguards is a great step towards responsible gaming. 🎮🔒 A few things I like: ✅ Easy toggle for purchases and chat ✅ Requires an email to activate, ensuring parents set it up ✅ Keeps the interface simple and accessible While many platforms offer parental control at the OS level, integrating it directly into the game makes it more visible and user-friendly. What do you think? Should more mobile games adopt in-game parental controls? 🚀

Michael Kopelovich April 9

Highlights

Applovin vs. Unity: How Applovin Has Been Winning It All!

We are at a dangerous crossroads where Applovin is poised to dominate the mobile ads market completely. What's going on? How did this happen? And what's next? Pay attention, folks, this one is a banger and has critical implications for the games industry's future. Something strange has happened in the mobile ads market since the failed merger between Applovin and Unity in August 2022. Applovin has quietly been dominating and significantly growing its share of the market. Source: GameMakers 2025 We can easily see the relative performance of both companies reflected in their market valuations. What happened? How did Applovin win vs. Unity? Why does Applovin have a massive competitive advantage and iron grip customer lock-in? How does the current situation critically impact the games industry (this is important)? How can Unity or anyone else help create a healthier market […]

Joseph Kim April 8

Journal

Publishing the most successful VR Games on Mobile?

Estoty's I am Cat and I am Security are currently making $300K a day 🤑 in ad revenue together with 500K downloads a day. Is publishing the most successful VR game on mobile the best trick you've heard about? 😱 This is one of the most craziest stories that we covered this year, where literally the most viral VR game got ported on mobile, it spams interstitials like there is no tmrw 😵, has rewarded videos even for basic interaction (like you see in the piano image) still keeps its viral traffic and then ... profit 💰 I am Cat has 62K reviews and 4.9 score on the Meta VR store, which is more than Beat Saber! (52K) The mobile version is already past 15 Mil. downloads in a little bit more than a month. I am security is already […]

Jakub Remiar April 8

Journal

We have some stabilisation in Mobile Gaming business.

It seems that we have some stabilisation in mobile gaming business. Based on Sensor Tower mobile gaming (excluding China) in Q1 2025 grew by 2% YoY (with iOS growing 5% YoY and Android declining -5% YoY). Once we look at the data, we can see that: ▪️ It is more and more a fight for attention - for the last quarter's revenue grows faster than downloads; it is easier to increase the monetisation ofthe user base than that user base ▪️ most likely, the real growth of mobile gaming is higher (the worst results are in hardcore and core gaming, where some additional direct-to-consumer payments are getting some popularity) ▪️ In the next months, we can expect a relatively low, although stable, growth rate of the mobile gaming business.

Mariusz Gąsiewski April 8

Highlights

Gaming ON: Rina Onur Sirinoglu Talks Spyke Games

Last week, we had a wonderful chat with Rina Onur Sirinoglu, CEO & Co-Founder of Spyke Games, and one of the key figures behind Peak’s legendary rise. We talked about how far Turkey's Mobile Gaming ecosystem has come and where it’s headed next. From humble beginnings to billion-dollar exits, from scrappy teams to world-class talent, all about what’s changed, what still matters, and why the next big gaming wave might just start in Istanbul. Some real gems in here, lezgo! 🕺🏻 How has the Turkish gaming ecosystem changed since the founding days of Peak? When Peak was founded in 2010, the gaming world was a completely different place. There was virtually no mobile gaming scene, and certainly no “ecosystem” to speak of in Turkey. In those early days, we found ourselves learning by doing—figuring things out as we went along. […]

Ömer Yakabagi April 8

Analysis

Pizza Ready! – From Dough to Domination: The Idle Arcade Success

If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that pizza is a universal love language. So when Supercent decided to channel that into a mobile game, it’s no wonder they struck gold. Or in this case, a piping hot slice of success. Pizza Ready! didn’t just show up – it dominated. It became the mozzarella on the hyper-casual genre’s crust, the sauce that bound mobile gamers together. But how did it manage to do that? Well, buckle up, because we’re about to dive into the gooey, cheesy center of why Pizza Ready! became one of the most downloaded and, surprisingly, most monetarily delicious games of the past year. 🎮 The Simulation Gold Rush - Why Everyone’s Making Arcade Idle Games Here’s the thing – making an arcade idle game might seem like the easiest recipe in the book. You’ve got the simplified […]

Aylin YAZICI April 8

Journal

How to make a Game players will LOVE

Most games fail because they focus on the wrong things. Players don’t quit because your game isn’t big enough. They quit because it isn’t fun enough.Here’s what most devs try (and what actually works):𝟭. 𝗧𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗻 ↳ What devs try: • Fancy graphics • Huge open worlds • Long cinematics ↳ What works: • One core mechanic that feels great from minute one 𝟮. 𝗧𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 ↳ What devs try: • Random freebies • Tons of side chores • Endless notifications ↳ What works: • A clear gameplay loop that rewards skill and curiosity 𝟯. 𝗧𝗼 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘆 ↳ What devs try: • Surprise “gotcha” moments • Just big numbers • Easy tutorial, then huge spike ↳ What works: • Gradual challenges, small setbacks, and meaningful wins 𝟰. 𝗧𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 ↳ What devs try: […]

Anton Slashcev April 8

Highlights

The making or breaking of your incentivized campaign?

And so it’s true, in our burgeoning corner of UA - as advertisers in the incentivized space know all too well, how you choose to pay for traffic can determine the ultimate success or failure of your campaign. There are two primary models for paying incent networks: CPI (Cost Per Install): The advertiser pays a fixed amount when a new user installs the game. MRCPE (Multi-Reward Cost Per Engagement): The advertiser pays per engagement milestone completed by the user (e.g., reach level 10, make a purchase, complete a mission). Both have their merits - and risks. Let's break them down. CPI: give control to the incent network to make your life easier Fixed cost Knowing exactly what you’ll pay per install is a compelling proposition. With a fixed CPI, advertisers lock in costs at the moment of install - no […]

Paul Bowen April 8

Journal

Login to enjoy full advantages

Go Premium!

Enjoy the full advantage of the premium access.

Stop following

Cancel subscription