Produced by: FoxData Global Mobile Data Research Center

Data Period: August 1 – August 31, 2025

Data Sources: App Store and Google Play

As the global mobile app market entered an active consumption phase in late summer 2025, the newly released August revenue chart highlighted three major trends:

1. Video and content platforms continue to dominate at the top;
2. AI-powered productivity applications are fully entering the mainstream subscription market;
3. Mid-core and casual games are showing clear divergence, with operational rhythm emerging as a key success factor.

App Store Global Revenue TOP 10 (August 2025)

Content Platforms Reinforce the “Dual Giants” Structure

• YouTube maintained its top position with $148M in revenue, sustained by dual monetization streams of subscriptions and ads.
• TikTok followed closely with $127M, leveraging short video and live-commerce features to lock in high-frequency engagement.

FoxData shows that TikTok’s user time-spent performance remains especially strong.

Together, the two generated nearly $276M, securing their absolute dominance within the content platform category.

AI Applications Accelerate Growth, Enter the Top 3

• ChatGPT climbed to #3 with $120M in revenue.
• By combining multi-modal upgrades with enterprise adoption, it has built a dual-track growth model of lightweight consumer usage + productivity in enterprise scenarios.

👉 This is the first time an AI-driven app has consistently ranked in the App Store’s Top 3, marking a significant step toward commercial maturity.

Mid-Core and Hardcore Games: Mixed Signals Across Genres

• Honor of Kings（CN server) ranked 4th ($110M). While slightly down, it remains the world’s most durable long-cycle eSports title, with Chinese players contributing the bulk of revenues.
• PUBG Mobile surged back to #6 ($58.9M, +6 ranks), boosted by seasonal updates and cross-industry collaborations.
• Last War: Survival dropped to #8 ($56.6M, -3 ranks), reflecting the SLG genre’s reliance on retention and content cadence.
• Whiteout Survival also fell to #9 ($47.5M), underscoring the intensifying summer competition among strategy games.

Steady Role of Casual and Social Apps

• Tinder rose to #5 ($64.6M, +1). This month’s highlight is not merely stability in revenue, but ongoing feature upgrades and targeted marketing campaigns. With new “interest-based matching” and limited-time premium perks, interaction has deepened. While North America remains the core paying base, traction has also begun to appear in Europe and East Asia — signaling long-term growth potential through localization.

♥️ But did one dating app encounter a major user data breach crisis?

• Royal Match remained steady at #7 ($57.3M), sustaining engagement with its “light-pressure play cycles + decorative tasks.”

• Monopoly GO! entered the Top 10 at #10 ($44.3M), validating the monetization potential of family-oriented casual gameplay.

Google Play Global Revenue TOP 10 (August 2025)

Utility Apps Maintain Long-Term Stability

• Google One remained firmly at the top with a staggering $2.57B, far surpassing all competitors. This demonstrates the enormous spending power of utility subscriptions in the Android ecosystem.

• Its revenue is mainly driven by cloud storage packages and cross-device membership perks, while its high retention and renewal rates set it apart from peers.

Source: FoxData

• From a structural perspective, Google One is evolving beyond a “standalone tool” into a long-term stable ecosystem asset through its bundling of cloud storage, member benefits, and system integration.

AI Subscription Services Go Mainstream

• ChatGPT remained in #2 position ($55M).
• Its continued strong performance on Google Play reflects AI’s growing adoption not just among professional and enterprise users but increasingly within daily-life productivity scenarios, with its user base expanding steadily.

Streaming Competition Intensifies, Driven by Blockbusters

• HBO Max surged to #4 ($34.4M), validating the role of exclusive premieres in boosting acquisition and retention.
• Disney+ ranked #7 ($18.8M), sustained by steady IP-driven content production.
• Peacock TV reached the Top 10 at #9 ($10.1M), reflecting the effectiveness of a long-tail content + multi-platform distribution strategy.

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𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒆-𝒔𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕?

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The Diverse Rise of Content and Localized Platforms

• TikTok appeared in two separate categories, ranking #3 in Social ($40.9M) and #6 in Video Players ($21.1M), showcasing the platform’s monetization strength across multiple verticals.

❓What’s the relationship and difference between these two TikTok listings?

1. Social Edition (Social) → Essentially TikTok’s “full version,” serving as the platform’s primary revenue driver through social engagement, e-commerce, and live-streaming monetization.
2. Video Player Edition (Video Players) → A “lightweight variant,” with reduced social and commerce features, focusing on stable video playback, catering to users who prefer passive short-video entertainment without the heavy social layer.

• WEBTOON ranked #8 ($14.2M). Operated by Korea’s Naver, it is a mobile-native webtoon platform that monetizes through vertical-scroll comics + in-app chapter unlocks. It has now become a key player in global digital content consumption, especially popular among Gen Z and anime/manga communities.

• Duolingo closed the Top 10 at #10 ($10.0M). With its creative marketing strategies and gamified learning model, the app has firmly proven the commercial value of education-driven subscriptions.

Case Study: ChatGPT’s Dual-Platform Surge

As the only AI-powered app ranked Top 3 on the App Store and Top 2 on Google Play, ChatGPT is quickly becoming a global subscription infrastructure:

• App Store Revenue: $120M (#3)
• Google Play Revenue: $55M (#2)
• Total Revenue: nearly $175M in August 2025, putting it on par with some of the world’s leading content platforms.

Growth Dynamics:

1. B2C: Lightweight use cases such as Q&A, translation, and everyday creative writing.
2. B2B: Expanding across enterprise workflows like documentation, customer support, and project planning.

👉 AI apps are no longer reliant on “tech trend hype.” They are evolving into daily essentials with high retention and long-term subscription value.

Key Insights & Future Outlook

1. Three Long-Term Pillars:

• Content Platforms (YouTube, TikTok)
• AI Productivity Tools (ChatGPT)
• Diversified Games (Honor of Kings, Royal Match, Monopoly GO!)

2. Global Potential of Localized Content Platforms:WEBTOON and niche streaming services demonstrate that regional culture and IP can achieve global commercial success.

3. Emerging Growth Channel:Education apps like Duolingo have seen rapid growth over the past year. Integrated with AI, they may unlock even larger monetization opportunities.

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📚 Recommended reading:

• Global Mobile App Download | August 2025: ChatGPT Remains No.1 on iOS, TikTok Lite Leads on Android
• 2025 Southeast Asia Mobile Gaming Market Insight Report
• A Strategic Guide to Localization Advancement: From Cultural Adaptation to Global Growth
• Global App Revenue Unlocked | July 2025 Leaderboard Reveals the Real Winners Across Platforms