According to AppGrowing, industry giants like such as Lilith, 4399, Bilibili, and FunPlus have successively launched their own Palworld-like mobile games. What’s notable, however, is the emerging design trend: a lightweight blend of "Palworld-like elements + refined gameplay mechanics." Monster-chatching is no longer the core gameplay by itself; instead it becomes an important module that drives game systems. Multiple “Palworld-like” combinations keep entering the market. This evolution is also reshaping UA: simply showing the “capture moment” in ads is no longer enough to attract users. Creative selling points are moving toward greater diversity. The Strategic Shift: Beyond Simple Cloning Rather than simply cloning the open-world framework of Palworld, most publishers choose to embed creature-collection mechanics into established genres to reduce development […]

In 2019, Leyi launched the SLG game "West Game," set in the American Westward Expansion era. With its differentiated theme and mature operations, the game quickly attracted a large number of users. As of now, the game has accumulated approximately 27 million downloads and generated over 1.4 billion yuan in revenue. However, since "West Game," Leyi seems to have hit a growth bottleneck. Despite the company's ongoing high-frequency testing of various SLG new games, it has failed to find a product capable of succeeding "West Game" and taking on the company’s revenue banner. Recently, AppGrowing observed that Leyi has launched the sequel to the "West Game" IP, "West Game II," which officially entered public beta on September 21. The data […]

If we were to rank the most popular gameplay styles of the year, "Loot & Extract" would undoubtedly be among the top. The impressive data from "Delta Force" with daily active users surpassing 30 million, alongside "Escape from Duckov" achieving a million evacuations, consistently confirms that this genre is in a period of explosive growth. What’s particularly noteworthy is that "loot & extract" is breaking the boundaries of traditional shooting games, beginning to penetrate the heavy category of SLG. Recently, AppGrowing observed that an increasing number of SLG developers are gravitating towards "Loot & Extract" gameplay. For instance, FunPlus launched "Bone War" last month, integrating a "top-down shooting + loot & extract" model similar to that in "Escape from Duckov," […]

In recent years, South Korea's influence in the global anime-style games market has gradually increased, with several high-performing titles emerging, such as "Goddess of Victory: NIKKE" and "Limbus Company." Among them, SmileGate's "Epic Seven" stands out particularly, as it has remained at the top of the Korean Google Play IAP charts since its launch in 2018, according to data from AppGrowing. Source:AppGrowing Last month , SmileGate's new title "Chaos Zero Nightmare", launched in multiple regions worldwide.On its launch day, the game topped the iOS free charts in multiple countries including the U.S., Japan, and South Korea. Within just ten days of release, "Chaos Zero Nightmare" is expected to generate over $10.95 million in revenue. Source:AppGrowing Game producer mentioned in a […]

"Foreign players are learning Song Dynasty history through the game." Since its global launch on November 7, NetEase's MMORPG "Sword of Justice" has generated trending discussions across major social media platforms worldwide. In the game, players explore the Hongqiao Bridge in Bianjing, experiencing the scenery of 'Qingming Shanghe Tu'. Through interactive storylines, they also engage with classical Chinese poetry. This international release has successfully introduced traditional Chinese cultural elements and aesthetic values to global gaming audiences. From the very first day of launch, the game dominated charts in multiple countries, topping the free sections of App Store and Google Play in Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, and other nations.   01. Light Character Progression + Heavy Social Interaction As a highly culturally […]

In recent years, Bilibili's ACG games have struggled, with more than 10 titles discontinued. Among the shutdowns are notable titles like "Strode," featuring 3D aerial combat, and "千年之旅:ELF," known for its extreme ML theme. Recently, AppGrowing found that Bilibili's casual ACG game Trickcal: Chibi Go released overseas on October 9 and quickly climbed to the top of the iOS free charts in Japan. The game has already surpassed $1 million in revenue, with over 60% coming from the Japanese market. The success of 'Trickcal: Chibi Go' appears to be breaking the stereotype of Bilibili's 'ACG Game Depression.'   01. Korean Audience Base + Differentiated Themes Actually, the achievement of 'Trickcal: Chibi Go' should not be entirely unexpected. You might not […]

On September 11th, American casual game developer Hitapps Games officially launched Solitaire Associations: Words. According to AppGrowing, the game reached the Top 2 in the US iOS free charts within just two weeks of launch. Source: AppGrowing Solitaire Associations: Words clearly indicates its core gameplay integrates two elements: “Solitaire” and “Word” . Both genres have substantial download volumes and high DAU in overseas markets, representing large user-base game categories. Meanwhile, Hitapps Games, the developer behind Solitaire Associations: Words, has long specialized in word-based games, having launched several hit titles. These include the word puzzle game Figgerits, which surpassed 2 million downloads in a single month, and the word association game Associations, which has amassed 10.4 million downloads on Google Play. […]

At the end of last month, Destiny: Rising made its global debut, immediately claiming the No.1 spot on the U.S. iOS download chart and peaking at No.22 on the top-grossing list. Seven years have passed since NetEase invested $100 million in Bungie in 2018 and announced a new joint project. In that time, the mobile shooter landscape has been largely dominated by incumbents. Why, then, has Destiny: Rising managed to shake up the market—and what does this breakthrough mean for NetEase? 01.Why Destiny: Rising Stood Out Part of the success lies in the strength of the Destiny IP. The original Destiny launched in 2014 with first-day sales reaching $500 million, while Destiny 2 became the best-selling U.S. title of 2017 […]

In Sensor Tower's latest global revenue ranking, Kingshot joined Whiteout Survival at the top, securing both the No.1 and No.2 spots for Century Games. Meanwhile, its newly launched merge title, Tasty Travels: Merge Game, also entered the chart at No.29. The company has become nothing short of a hit factory. Riding its momentum, parent company Century Huatong's stock price has surged, with market capitalization surpassing ¥100 billion (≈ US$13.8 billion) in July 2025—cementing its status as a leading A-share gaming giant. Looking back, Century Huatong's ¥6.939 billion acquisition of Century Games from FunPlus was seen by many as a high-stakes gamble. A decade later, it is now considered a masterstroke. 1. A ¥6.9B Acquisition and the ¥2B Performance Gamble Rewind […]

Habby may not be a permanent fixture at the center of the mobile gaming industry, but whenever it drops a new title, the spotlight inevitably follows. Its latest release, Wittle Defender, launched globally in early June and quickly climbed into the top 10 on the iOS grossing charts across Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan of China. According to Sensor Tower, the game has generated $2 million in iOS revenue over the past two weeks. Following the successes of Capybara Go! and Archero 2, Wittle Defender marks Habby's third breakout title within a single year. It's almost as if the studio has cracked a repeatable formula for success—one that consistently delivers solid results. Despite feeling familiar in both gameplay and marketing […]