FoxData Weekly Report | iOS Revenue Reshuffle, Google Play Casual Hits & Korean RPGs Lead

Produced by: FoxData Global Mobile Data Research Center

Chart Type: Weekly Game Charts

Data Period: September 19–25, 2025

Data Source: App Store and Google Play

Coverage: Global

Apple App Store | Downloads TOP 10 Highlights

From the downloads perspective, iOS continues to be defined by a mix of “established IP stability” and “newcomer breakthroughs”, with shifts at the top reflecting differentiated operational strategies:

• Clash Royale climbed back to No.1: A textbook case of Supercell’s long-term operations. Competitive tournaments and seasonal refreshes not only keep veteran players engaged but also trigger secondary word-of-mouth, sustaining social stickiness and mitigating late-life decline.
• Valorant: Genesis Operations slipped to No.2: Tencent’s FPS maintains a broad user base globally, but downloads cooled after the recent esports peak. Its growth relies heavily on event calendars and competitive tie-ins, suggesting cyclical swings without large-scale activations.
• PUBG Mobile back to the Top 4: Fresh map releases and intensified operations in MENA and South Asia pulled in new user cohorts. Its localized packaging—particularly in India—highlights why PUBG continues to rebound regionally.
• Roblox rising steadily: The UGC-driven “creator economy” model keeps user activity high. With its platform positioning—especially in the US and Southeast Asia—Roblox behaves more like an ecosystem than a single title.
• New entry: Spirit Summoners (元气唤灵师) at No.9: A newcomer blending idle mechanics with anime aesthetics, validating the potential of lightweight + ACG gameplay loops. While acquisition is cost-efficient, the long-term LTV curve is still untested.
• Subway Surfers returned to the Top 10: More than a decade in its lifecycle, yet still ranking high—underscoring the perennial pull of the endless runner genre, particularly in emerging markets.

📌 FoxData Insight:

The iOS download chart reveals an evolving dual-engine structure: competitive, event-driven IPs versus lightweight genre experiments. Established studios dominate the top, but differentiation and cultural tagging allow new entrants to carve out space.

Apple App Store | Revenue TOP 10 Highlights

This week’s iOS revenue chart is defined by three surges and two retreats:

• Highlight: Peacekeeper Elite (和平精英) jumped to No.1 with $17M in a single week. A surge driven by the dual track of new premium cosmetics + esports seasonal campaigns. Despite market maturity in China, global exposure through events and limited-time content continues to generate monetization spikes.
• SLG powerhouses stable at No.2 and No.3 — Last War and Whiteout Survival: SLG remains the genre with the longest monetization tail, often sustaining 3+ years of growth under a whale-driven model.
• Puzzle remains strong: Royal Match holds firm in the Top 4, validating the triple play of Puzzle + Story + Light Progression as a universally monetizable formula, especially in Western premium markets.
• Declines for evergreen giants: Honor of Kings dropped to No.5 post-event, while Monopoly Go! also retreated as viral energy cooled.
• Biggest gainer: Dungeon & Fighter: Origins (地下城与勇士：起源) at No.8 (↑43), fueled by surging demand in Korea and Japan, where hardcore action RPGs have long been entrenched.
• Mid-tier pressure: Clash Royale and KingShot slid down to 9 and 10, underscoring that even strategy-hybrids with strong heat need fresh content beats to sustain monetization.

📌 FoxData Insight:

1. iOS revenue is increasingly stratified:Event-driven spikes: e.g., Peacekeeper Elite, Dungeon & Fighter Origins – reliant on major updates, anniversaries, esports triggers.
2. Steady-state operators: e.g., Last War, Royal Match – long LTV, reliable retention-driven ARPU.
3. Cyclical swingers: e.g., Honor of Kings, Monopoly Go! – surging during campaigns but prone to sharp post-event declines.

This demonstrates that iOS audiences are highly responsive to “acute monetization events”, rather than steady organic spend. Publishers must excel at exploiting holiday and competitive windows.

Google Play | Downloads TOP 10 Highlights

Google Play once again affirms that casual gaming is the engine of download scale:

• Roblox tops the chart: UGC ecosystems shine more on Google Play’s global base. As a content platform rather than a single game, Roblox delivers an unmatched lifecycle advantage.
• Subway Surfers slipped to No.2 but remains an evergreen install driver, especially across Latin America and India.
• Annoying Uncle Punch Game surged 25 spots into the Top 10: Its meme-like “stress relief + comedic simulation” design triggered viral adoption across Southeast Asia and India. Ultra-low entry barriers align perfectly with short-cycle virality mechanics.
• Block Blast! and Tile Club at No.3 and No.7: puzzle-match gameplay continues to exhibit universal appeal, with broad accessibility across demographics.
• Pizza Ready! and Prison Escape Journey persist in the Top 10, signaling consistent demand in simulation and role-play formats within tier-2/3 markets.

📌 FoxData Insight:

• Google Play downloads highlight a pattern:Casual + stress relief = massive scale, shallow LTV.
• Platform + evergreen IPs (Roblox, Subway Surfers) = longevity through user-generated updates.

The formula for long-term survival on Play? Marrying lightweight virality with systems that extend lifecycle value.

Google Play | Revenue TOP 10 Highlights

Google Play monetization reflects a tale of Korean RPG dominance + Western puzzle stability:

• Vampire (Netmarble) retains No.1 ($22M): leveraging strong narrative and fandom-driven spending.
• Coin Master remains steady at No.2 ($15M): Anchored in slot loops and social stickiness for worldwide mainstream monetization.
• Lineage M soared 7 places to No.3: The MMORPG veteran capitalized on a major anniversary update, proving “legacy IP + expansion pacing” continues to reignite high-value players.
• SLG solid as ever: Last War and Whiteout Survival sit firmly at No.4 and No.5.
• Puzzle franchises stable: Royal Match and Candy Crush Saga sustaining Western IAP flows with minimal volatility.
• Pressure on mid-tier hybrids: Gossip Harbor and KingShot slipped slightly, reflecting difficulties in sustaining conversion intensity under genre saturation.

📌 FoxData Insight:

• Google Play’s revenue model diverges markedly from iOS:Korean RPGs and Japanese IPs thrive on highly loyal regional spenders.
• Western players anchor steady puzzle/board spending, giving global publishers predictable cash flow.
• Hybrid-strategy newcomers can chart, but struggle to break entrenched duopolies without stronger monetization hooks.

Key Takeaways

iOS entering “event-driven monetization” mode: Seasonal events, esports campaigns, and major updates are decisive revenue inflection points.

Google Play sustaining “long-tail + viral hits”: Roblox, Subway Surfers provide consistency, while memes like Uncle Punch inject short-term shocks.

Polarization intensifying:

iOS = high-value, core-heavy ecosystems reliant on engineered spend peaks.

Google Play = mass casual adoption, distributed via low-barrier installs.

Titles like Royal Match and Candy Crush Saga are preparing Halloween-themed updates later in October, sustaining casual spend on Google Play.

📌 FoxData Insight:

Golden Week has become a structured monetization window, not just a traffic spike. Expect iOS charts to surge on FPS and SLG pushes (led by PUBG Mobile’s Golden Week campaign), while Puzzle and quirky casual titles leverage seasonal content for steady momentum on Google Play.

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