Most Monopolized Puzzle Genres 2025

Some puzzle genres are nearly impossible to break into. The top 5 games often take over 90% of the entire market.Here’s the full list of the most monopolized puzzle genres in 2025, ranked by how much of the market is controlled by just 5 games:𝟭. 𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗣𝘂𝘇𝘇𝗹𝗲 – 𝟵𝟱% • $77M IAP revenue (2024) • Angry Birds still rules the roost. • Top games: https://lnkd.in/e7KJPFUR𝟮. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝘂𝘇𝘇𝗹𝗲 – 𝟵𝟯% • $152M in IAP • LINE: Disney Tsum Tsum leads the pack. • Top games: https://lnkd.in/edZNn3fY𝟯. 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵-𝟮 – 𝟵𝟮% • $539M in IAP • Toon Blast, Toy Blast, Angry Birds Dream Blast dominate. • Top games: https://lnkd.in/eQ9VeDfV𝟰. 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝟯𝗗 – 𝟴𝟱% • $440M in IAP • Triple Match 3D and Happy Match Cafe™ hold their ground. • Top games: https://lnkd.in/eBv4fJaK𝟱. 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵-𝟯 𝗧𝗶𝗹𝗲 – 𝟴𝟮% • $138M in IAP • Tile Busters […]

Anton Slashcev April 23

Journal

Just hit my 1-year anniversary in MONOPOLY GO

🎉 Just hit my 1-year anniversary in MONOPOLY GO — and they surprised me with 500 dice! This kind of loyalty reward is simple but so effective. A personalized moment, clean design, and a strong gift that reminds players why they keep coming back. 🙌

Michael Kopelovich April 23

Highlights

Mobile Gaming Today: April’22 Week

Ciao Fam, Heading to HGC Berlin soon. Hit me up if around 🕺🏻 👌🏻 Top Gaming Content » Royal Kingdom’s Hollywood Power Play: Last Hurrah or Royal Rebirth? Launching a new Match-3 game in today’s mobile market is like trying to sell umbrellas in the Sahara. Saturation, soaring CPIs, and razor-thin differentiation margins make even the most technically sound games struggle to scale. When Dream Games soft-launched Royal Kingdom two years ago, they entered this same storm, which quickly showed itself. After years of pivots and a rocky soft launch, Royal Kingdom is back. This time with what may be mobile gaming’s priciest celebrity campaign, starring LeBron James, Jimmy Fallon & Shakira. Dream Games’ high-stakes play has reignited speculation: is this a desperate revival, or the launchpad for a broader Royal IP? Now, nearly a clone of Royal Match, Dream’s […]

Ömer Yakabagi April 22

Journal

The One Gameplay Sequence That Appears in Every Top Merge Mansion Ad

📢 The One Gameplay Sequence That Appears in Every Top #MergeMansion Ad You’ve probably seen whether the CG intro is dramatic, funny, mysterious, or romantic…Once we hit gameplay, it’s always the garden.This mid-section gameplay loop appears in at least 5 top-performing Merge Mansion (Metacore) creatives this month (via AppMagic).Let’s break down why this tiny moment is doing so much heavy lifting and what we can learn from it.1. The Promise Is Finally RealMerge Mansion built its brand on intrigue: 🧓 Grandma has secrets 🧩 There’s something hidden behind that door 🏚️ It’s not just another merge gameThis segment is the gameplay payoff. You merge → unlock a key → open a hidden door.It validates the storyline and sets Merge Mansion apart from all those fake meta-creatives.According to Mistplay's research on high-value casual players, seeing ad narrative reflected in actual gameplay […]

George Tsomaev April 22

Journal

Best Game Devs don’t work at Blizzard, Riot, King, Playrix, or Supercell.

Unpopular opinion: the best game developers don’t work at Blizzard, Riot, King, Playrix, or Supercell. Some of the best minds in game dev are building alone or in tiny teams. And they’re not just making noise.They’re topping the charts.Recent proof:• Lethal Company – Solo dev. Outsold AAA titles. Viral on Twitch and TikTok.• Balatro – Made by a small team. Hit $1M in sales in 1 day.• Palworld – Team of 40. Outsold Call of Duty and Pokémon.• Dave the Diver – Built like an indie. Game Awards nominee. Massive commercial success.These aren't lucky breaks. They're signals.At big studios:• You work on one piece of a massive machine• There’s process, politics, and polish• Creativity comes with constraintsIn small teams:• You move fast• You take risks• You make weird, unforgettable gamesThere’s no safety net. No backup plan. Just vision and execution.The […]

Anton Slashcev April 22

Journal

New Market Research Drop: Sports, Puzzle & Simulation Games

New Market Research Drop – Sports, Puzzle & Simulation Games In this latest part of my market research series, I dive into three of the most promising mobile game categories based on actual performance data:- Success rate of newly launched games- Top-1 and top-3 revenue concentration- Share of revenue coming from new titlesPuzzle games show massive scale but intense competition.Sports games offer longevity, but breaking in is tough.Simulation games are dominated by incumbents and hard to crack.The analysis is based entirely on AppMagic data and built for F2P game developers looking to validate their next move with data, not guesswork.

Jukka Hilvonen April 22

Journal

Blend Textures and Icons with ChatGPT

🥚 Had a long Easter weekend off! So I had some time to play around with 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗚𝗣𝗧 and ended up diving into its 𝗧𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 functionality.You can blend Textures like Candy or Fabric and combine it with your existing 𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗜𝗰𝗼𝗻, to create visuals that feel hyper-realistic, tactile, and just way more scroll-stopping.The effects are subtle but powerful, it instantly makes your icon 𝗣𝗢𝗣!🧠 It tricks the brain into thinking the icon is more “real”. 👀 It grabs attention and make your icon stand out. 🎯 And it can lift your store performance without a full rebrand.Check out the slides for a few examples 👇

Richard Kos April 22

Analysis

What’s Wrong with Gin Rummy Stars from BeachBum?

Want to know what’s wrong with Gin Rummy Stars from Beach Bum? I’ve been playing this game for a very long time, and I have two major things I don’t love about it. But first of all, I want to be clear — the game’s great. The LiveOps schedule is fully packed, all the features are in place, and the core mechanic is very engaging. But sometimes, it feels like they either don’t care, or just know nothing about me as a player. The game could definitely benefit from some personalized approach. So here are the two examples I want to discuss: 1. “No Ads” Purchase From the first session, they highlight everywhere that the first purchase will grant No Ads — so I won’t see those damn interstitials anymore. I love that. This is my top personal monetization driver in any […]

Michael Khripin April 21

Journal

Casual Mobile Games 2025

The best casual mobile game lessons you'll learn today. 6+1 Insights from my custom dashboard: Watch the change in the top games,But define your own path...✦ Not every game needs to be on top,↳ They do need to be profitable though.✦ Market saturation is an excuse,↳ Your game needs to be better (sorry!)✦ Definition of genre definer has changed,↳ Level Design > Game Mechanics, deal with it.✦ Long-tail games need time to make,↳ IPs are not a must, but a good touch.✦ Consistent power user stickiness wins,↳ Reach out for longer retention, always.✦ There is no such thing as “old” game,↳ There is outdated gameplay.Bonus:✦ LiveOps teams matter a lot. (DUUH)↳ Take care of your team.I created many dashboards on AppMagicyou can do too, it really is so easy to start:Player stickiness re-defined. DM me if you want to discuss.

Gökhan Üzmez April 21

Journal

“Welcome Back” reward screen in Dice Dreams

Really liked this “Welcome Back” reward screen in Dice Dreams by SuperPlay. Instead of dropping all the rewards at once, they use a timed collection system — claim one, start the countdown for the next. It’s a smart way to increase session time for returning players, nudging them to hop back into the gameplay and hopefully enjoy it again.

Michael Kopelovich April 21

Highlights

How to Model Extraction Economies

Check this out! The answer to extraction shooters lies in system design. By creating a model, we can derive implications that help guide key design decisions and frame challenges in a quantifiable way. A model also lays plain some of the variables that shape the experience of extractions. There’s a reason Marathon’s design director mentioned a target survival rate of 50% (the percentage of players who successfully extract). This single variable has enormous implications for how players experience progression. Hint: it’s the casino dummy. Similar to social casino, the genre creates “runs” where players can extract wealth or resources. Each successful run means more wealth and greater stakes. And like social casino, the genre has developed player “hedges” but turned them into progression vectors. For instance, players can ‘stash’ income or utilize ‘insurance’ slots, which enable them to protect specific […]

Phillip Black April 21

Journal

LiveOps isn’t just about events. It’s a strategy.

LiveOps isn't just about events. It's a strategy. 𝟭. 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 🧩Players burn through core content fast. Keep them hooked with: • New levels, weapons, or cosmetics • DLCs and seasonal updates • User-generated content • End-game loops Goal: Keep loyal players invested Key metrics: long-term retention, purchase frequency 𝟮. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 🛠️ LiveOps means constant improvement. Use player data to: • Improve onboarding and first-time experience • Rebalance the economy • Fix bugs and drop-off points • Refine monetization and UX Goal: Make the game feel better over time Key metrics: short-term retention, onboarding completion, churn 𝟯. 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 🌟Limited-time events create urgency and fun. Think: • Holiday events or limited-time modes • Leaderboards and game seasons • Daily challenges and social features Goal: Spark excitement and boost session frequency Principles: • Novelty, rewards, and FOMO • Prioritize engagement […]

Anton Slashcev April 21

#GameDev

Login to enjoy full advantages

Go Premium!

Enjoy the full advantage of the premium access.

Stop following

Cancel subscription