The following analysis of mobile games marketing trends for January 2025 is based on advertising data from AppGrowing across 50 countries and regions, and 28 global media platforms.
In the rankings of mobile game advertising share by category this month, casual, puzzle, and simulation games ranked in the top three.
Casino games maintain the highest new advertising share, reaching 38.4%.Other mid-core categories such as casual, puzzle, adventure, arcade, and card games also have a new advertising share of over 10%.
Regarding ad volume, casual and puzzle games ranked first and second, with a small difference in their advertising volumes.
Strategy games showed a significant increase in ad volume, surpassing simulation and RPG games to secure a spot in the top three. However, after removing duplicates, the number of creative materials for strategy games is fewer than those of simulation and RPG games.
Looking at the distribution of material types and video durations, video ads remain the dominant type in global mobile game advertising, accounting for 72.34%, while image-based ads account for 27.55%. Among video ads, those lasting between 16–30 seconds are the most popular, making up 55.31%.
01.Top Mobile Game Developers & Mobile Games
According to AppGrowing's data, compared to December 2024, there have been significant changes in the top mobile game developers in January 2025. The number one spot went to TG Inc. (Top Games), whose main product is Envoy. Oakever Games and Ten Square Games followed closely behind, while the previous leader, SayGames, dropped to fourth place.
Focusing on Chinese developers, 12 Chinese game developer accounts made it into the top 30 this time. Except for Century Games, which ranked 10th, the other Chinese game developers on the list have shown various levels of improvement.
EYEWIND LIMITED secured 25th place, a well-known Chinese casual game developer, and saw a significant increase in advertising volume for My Cruise, driving the company's ranking up.
In the product advertising top 30, Evony saw a staggering 4288.16% increase in ad spend, claiming the number one spot.
Fishing Clash, a fishing game released in 2016, skyrocketed to second place and remains a dominant force in the global fishing game market.
Vita Mahjong, a Mahjong-themed match-3 game, continued to show steady growth in advertising volume, ranking fourth.
EYEWIND LIMITED's cruise-themed simulation game My Cruise saw a 181.43% increase in ad volume, claiming 12th place.
Tencent had two products in the top 30: Honor of Kings (the global version of 王者荣耀) increased its advertising volume by 49.22%, entering the top 30.
02.Top Download & Pre-registering Games
When sorted by download numbers, Google Play's download charts in January still favor light to mid-core categories. My Talking Angela 2 from Outfit7 ranked in the top 15. Free Fire's two versions consistently performed well on the list, while PUBG MOBILE ranked 12th.
In terms of download growth, several casino games dominated the top of the download chart, with Flip Jump 777 jumping to first place.
Other top-ranking products are also light to mid-core games, and one standout is 龍魂旅人, an RPG by the Chinese developer Zilong Games. The game was distributed and operated in the Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan markets by Taiwanese company GameBeans, and its first week revenue in those markets is estimated to have reached nearly $25 million.
Now, let's look at the pre-registration rankings. This time, most of the products in the dual-platform pre-registration list are of the anime style, including 命運聖契：少女的羁絆, Enigma of Sépia, 레조넌스, and Ragnarok M: Classic, all of which ranked in the top ten of both platforms. Additionally, GO! GO! Muffin by XD was ranked fourth on the App Store pre-registration list for the Japan market.
High Seas Hero by Century Games claimed the top spot in the dual-platform pre-registration list. The SLG game, which closely follows the "mini-game" trend in its overall packaging and integrates the "box-opening" feature, targets a lighter SLG experience. The game’s theme is "naval combat," which is relatively rare in global markets.
According to media reports, the game is performing well in the Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan markets, though it has yet to make a significant impact in regions like Europe and the U.S.
03.EYEWIND LIMITED Global Advertising Layout
In 2020, EYEWIND LIMITED gained widespread industry attention with the hit Brain Out. According to AppGrowing's "Top Publishers," the company still focuses on the casual game sector, concentrating on coloring, match, and simulation games.
In January, EYEWIND LIMITED's top seven advertising regions were the U.S., Indonesia, South Korea, the U.K., Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Looking at the product release cycle, EYEWIND LIMITED currently has one product in the sprint phase—Brain Out 2, the sequel to Brain Out. However, the highest advertising volume in January came from My Cruise, a cruise-themed simulation game, which accounted for nearly 80% of their ad volume.
According to AppGrowing’s data, My Cruise’s daily ad volume in January stayed above 3,000 ads, with a peak of over 8,000 ads on certain days in mid-January. The creative materials for My Cruise focus on the “cruise management” theme, often using tactics such as “failed endings” and “before-and-after contrasts” to increase user interest. Some ads even include real-world footage, such as images of cruise ships or beach landscapes, to enhance appeal.
For example, one video ad starts with a 3-second shot of a beautiful beach scene, conveying a "vacation" feel, followed by the tagline "The best game for long vacations without the need for internet." The gameplay content is presented in a "rise and fall" manner, showcasing how the player restores a dilapidated cruise ship to its luxurious, beautiful state, giving players a strong sense of achievement and boosting downloads.
