The following analysis of mobile game marketing trends for February 2026 is based on advertising data from AppGrowing across 50 countries and regions, and 28 global media platforms. In terms of ad distribution by category, Casual games regained the top position, followed by Casino and Puzzle. However, Casino games continued to lead in the share of newly advertised apps, accounting for 29.42%, down from January. By ad volume, the top three categories remained Puzzle, Casual, and Role-Playing. Simulation ranked fourth, with ad volume comparable to Role-Playing games. In terms of ad creative formats, video continued to dominate global mobile game advertising, accounting for 70.07%, while image creatives made up 26.51%. By video length, the 16-30 second segment remained the most […]

In the era of Meta Andromeda, low bids, aggressive scaling, and simple asset swaps no longer work. If your cold-start phase stretches from 2 days to 7, or your ads never exit learning, your creatives are likely below Meta’s new “semantic kill line.” 01 The Semantic Kill Line：Does AI Understand Your Ads? Under Meta Andromeda, creatives are treated like programming languages: if the logic is messy, the system cannot match it to the right audience in vector space. Source：《Meta Andromeda: Supercharging Advantage+ automation with the next-gen personalized ads retrieval engine》 To pass the algorithm's test, your ad needs to cross three simple bars: 1. The 3-Seconds Rule: The algorithm must identify the target audience within the first 3 seconds. 2. […]

In the world of mobile game user acquisition (UA), we are witnessing a fundamental paradigm shift. The era of "human vs. platform" is ending; the era of AI vs. AI has arrived.  The Algorithm Trap: Are We Just Working for the Platforms? For years, game developers have felt the squeeze of "Traffic Red Oceans". But the real pressure isn't just rising costs—it’s the loss of control. Modern automated bidding systems and black-box algorithms now dictate traffic auction and distribution, leaving marketers with dwindling room for manual optimization. Many practitioners now feel they are "working for the platforms," with every dollar of their budget serving as training data for the platform’s machine learning rather than guaranteed ROI.   The Efficiency Paradox: […]

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. […]