Mobile Gaming Today: April’9 Week

Hey Fam, I’m pretty curious if Trump’s new +104% tariffs on China will affect mobile gaming. Lmk how you feel about that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ And - Lezgo! 👇🏻 👌🏻 Top Gaming Content » Why Now Is the Worst Time to Launch a Match-3? 🧩 Match-3 is still a $5B beast, dominating Puzzle Game revenue, but breaking in is brutal. No Western Match-3 title has hit $100M since Royal Match (2020), unlike the 2013–2017 boom. It’s saturated with UA hurdles and content-rich giants guarding the gates. The smarter move? Start with adjacent hits, Tile Match, Sort, Match-3D. These rising subgenres offer room to build your puzzle chops, monetization muscle, and LiveOps flow, without getting crushed. Think Spyke Games: smaller wins today, bigger Match-3 ambitions tomorrow. In this red ocean, scaling sideways might be the only way up. 🍕 Game of the Week: […]

Gamigion 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

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

Supercell is going to the movies, baby.

Coincidence? I think not. Supercell is going to the movies, baby. Sonic, Mario, and now Minecraft will have every game business development exec busin’ around Los Angeles for months. World of Warcraft, Borderlands, and Monster Hunter "interpretations" will be swept under the rug. And we already know Arcane’s famed ability to blow NINE figures. While Hollywood experiences cyclical trends, this has earned the “transmedia” sub-brand, a sort of VC baptism of the strategy. Yet none of these franchises seem to use it. None of them were timed with content updates—releases across a franchise should be synchronized to amplify the transmedia effects. The same is true for breakout hit 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘵, which had no wide release. Ultimately, the Supercell platform is vast (360M MAU, or about the size of the United States), and they’ve experimented with short-form animation on YouTube. With all […]

Phillip Black April 8

Journal

Top 10 March Releases by Revenue

Top 10 March Releases by Revenue 🔥 Remember last week when we showed how to spot top-performing new releases using Advanced Search? 😉Now it’s time to put that to work — let’s take a look at last month’s new gaming releases and how they performed in Tier-1 West!☑️ Just follow these steps:Apps → Advanced SearchRelease period → March 2025Tags → GamesGeography → Tier-1 West💥 A solid dose of inspiration — whether you’re building a product, crafting a UA strategy, or just staying sharp on market trends.And while the image shows just the top 10, there were over 3,000 new releases in total! This link takes you straight to the list.

Andrei Zubov April 7

Highlights

AppLovin’s TikTok Pitch: Boost Ads to Win Big

As reported by CNBC, AppLovin can offer TikTok ‘much stronger bid than others,’ CEO says. AppLovin just threw its hat in the ring to take over TikTok's operations outside China, and it’s not playing small. CEO Adam Foroughi says this isn’t just a U.S. play; it’s a global power move. AppLovin CEO: Our TikTok Bid Tops Them AllAppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi, speaking on CNBC’s The Exchange, called the company’s late-stage offer to acquire TikTok a “much stronger bid than others.” Aiming Big: A Global Merger With TikTokForoughi revealed that AppLovin isn’t just targeting TikTok’s U.S. operations; they’re proposing a full-scale merger with the platform’s entire global business. Trump Extends TikTok Sale Deadline AgainFormer President Donald Trump announced a second extension for ByteDance to divest its U.S. TikTok operations, giving bidders like AppLovin more room to maneuver. The Ad-tech Titan wants […]

Gamigion April 6

Highlights

Clash of Screens: Supercell to Hollywood

First, conquered mobile, now Supercell is charging into entertainment with CINEMATIC FIREPOWER! A new movie? Nope, not this one. Just joking, not this one (: Supercell, the powerhouse behind Clash of Clans & Clash Royale, is plotting its boldest move yet: turning its billion-dollar gaming universes into full-blown film and TV franchises. The Finnish mobile gaming giant has dropped a cinematic gauntlet, posting a job for a senior film and TV development exec in Los Angeles. The mission? Build new worlds. Tell unforgettable stories. And do it with the kind of firepower usually reserved for A-list studios. "We are seeking a Senior Film & TV Development Executive to join our team and drive the development of film and television projects based on Supercell’s franchises. This role requires a strategic thinker with great storytelling instincts, a proven track record for building creative teams in film and […]

Gamigion April 4

Highlights

Why Mediation Platforms Are Mobile’s Most Important Product?

Gold in the Middle: Why Mediation Platforms Are Mobile’s Most Important Product When I started in the mobile advertising space 8 years ago and asked about Mediation platforms, I was always brushed off with a: “It’s all that data."Great, that tells me so much… But what exactly is happening? Don’t worry. Let’s use this week's newsletter to explain the opportunities that present themselves to a mediation platform. By the end, I’m sure you’ll see why the mediation platform is the best strategic product to operate. Let’s talk about the fictitious ABC Inc. ABC Inc. has built and operates a successful mediation platform and a UA network in the fictitious mobile space. Here are the opportunities: Gatekeeping 🔐 Owning and operating a Mediation platform gives ABC Inc. leverage over other ad networks in the industry. They set the rules on who […]

Felix Braberg April 3

Journal

What does Mobile Game Monetization look like in 2025?

What does mobile game monetization look like in 2025? I examined this from a data perspective, focusing on recent Sensor Tower data (March 2024 - February 2025). Below is data showing the percentage of revenue and downloads in mobile gaming for games with specific monetization features. So we see the following: 🔸 F2P is the king, and paid games hardly exist on mobile 🔸 Currency bundles and Live ops are becoming the standard now for in-app games 🔸 Subscription and season pass are moving to heavy in-app games 🔸 Lootbox is a topic in bigger games 🔸 It is still not a year of NFT and Crypto in mobile gaming :).

Mariusz Gąsiewski April 3

Highlights

Race for TikTok: AppLovin and Amazon in the Mix

The clock’s ticking, and TikTok’s U.S. future is on the line. With an April 5 deadline fast approaching, ByteDance is under pressure to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations, or face a nationwide ban. Among the rumored buyers? Ad Tech titan AppLovin, reportedly deep in negotiations, and Amazon, whose all-in bid hasn’t gained much traction with ByteDance. The original January ban was delayed after President Trump returned to office, allowing more time for a sale. But the clock is almost out. If no deal is struck by Saturday, Trump could extend the deadline again, but there’s no guarantee. Big Bids, Bigger Stakes AppLovin’s interest is said to be known at the highest levels of the Trump administration. Meanwhile, Amazon’s offer—rumored to be for all of TikTok—has been viewed with skepticism. Still, both tech giants represent the growing U.S. appetite to control the […]

Gamigion April 3

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