Global Mobile Game Rankings: January 2026 - Top 15

Data Period: Jan 1 - Jan 31, 2026

Data Source: App Store & Google Play

Data Scope: Global

Is the Industry Shifting Toward Emotion-Driven Growth?

In January 2026, China’s game market opened strong, with 182 game licenses approved in a single month—well above the 2025 average—while the global mobile games market closed Q4 2025 at a record revenue high.

FoxData’s January global download and revenue rankings show two sides of the same story:

• Downloads highlight casual players seeking quick fun and emotional relief.

• Revenue reflects core players investing in deep, long-term virtual worlds.

Some classics returned with nostalgia-driven updates, new games broke through with simple yet effective ideas and a few former leaders began to lose momentum.

This isn’t just a ranking—it’s the first signal of shifting player sentiment in 2026, showing who truly understands what keeps players engaged in a content-driven era.

I. Top 15 App Store Downloads

The App Store download chart saw broad growth, with over 90% of games climbing ranks. Players are eager to explore new titles, signaling a highly active market.

Emotion-Driven, Low-Stress Games Lead the Way

A standout newcomer is Heartopia, a family simulation game released in 2025. Its rise reflects a key trend: players increasingly seek emotional value over competitive thrills. Nearly 60% of users now prefer cozy, comforting experiences, turning games into digital safe havens.

🔍 Discover Heartopia's rise on FoxData

Heartopia delivers exactly that. Its goal-free, “slow-life” gameplay lets players decorate, garden, fish, socialize, or adopt pets. Instead of pressure, it offers comfort and companionship, meeting demand for low-stress, emotion-driven gaming.

Classic Mechanics Meet Fresh Innovation

Other top performers, like Last Z: Survival Shooter (↑14) and Arrows – Puzzle Escape, show another path to success: refreshing established genres with hybrid or refined gameplay.

• Last Z: Survival Shooter blends roguelike combat, base-building and cooperative play, proving that “fight zombies, build your home” still resonates globally.

🎮 See Last Z: Survival Shooter’s full metrics on FoxData

• Arrows – Puzzle Escape, launched in August 2025, strips puzzles to their core. With simple rules and deep logic, it offers a pure, addictive “flow” experience across thousands of handcrafted levels.

Both succeed by targeting specific, unmet player needs—intense action or focused puzzle challenges.

Even in a growing market, some classics are slipping. Clash Royale fell in both downloads and revenue, showing that veteran strategy games face aging audiences and evolving gameplay. Long-running titles now must refresh goals for existing players while reaching new generations, reflecting a broader shift from chasing traffic to building long-term player engagement.

💡 FoxData Insight: Player choices are increasingly diverse. Survival thrills, deep puzzle challenges, and comforting social experiences all have their audiences.

The key question for 2026: who can turn this traffic into lasting retention and revenue?

II. Top 15 Google Play Downloads

While most games climbed steadily within the top 1–7 positions, a major disruptor emerged: Royal Kingdom, a match-3 game that soared 55 spots.

Developed by the Royal Match team, Royal Kingdom goes beyond classic match-3. It combines kingdom-building and a light narrative of battling dark forces, seamlessly mixing instant match satisfaction with long-term progression. With cinematic visuals, it proves that high-quality, hybrid gameplay can break through even in a crowded market.

💡 FoxData Insight: Success on Google Play comes from both breakthrough quality and innovation, as well as strong, hard-to-shake core genres.

Explore the Global App Delisting Report

Dive into the latest global app delisting data to uncover key trends, platform insights, and what app removals reveal about the app market in November 2025.

 

Get the Report

III. Top 15 App Store Revenue

Unlike downloads, revenue rankings show sharp top concentration and high volatility, reflecting intense competition for player spending.

Content-Powered Growth

Genshin Impact jumped 21 spots with its “Song of the Empty Moon: Finale” update, delivering new characters, maps, story chapters, elemental reactions, the Lantern Rite festival and massive rewards. This shows how major content updates that reshape gameplay and story can drive both engagement and revenue.

Other highlights included DNF Mobile《地下城与勇士：起源》and Valorant Mobile《无畏契约：源能行动》rose 13 and 11 spots, respectively. DNF’s Lunar New Year update balanced nostalgia and convenience, offering instant level 70, epic gear, job-change books, and classic characters, reactivating both emotional attachment and spending.

SLG Market Shows Strong Monetization

Top SLG games dominate revenue, with the top 20 SLG titles in domestic and overseas markets generating ¥6.237 billion in January alone.

For example, Three Kingdoms Tactics《三国志·战略版》achieved 70% monthly revenue growth in China with its annual campaign. This confirms a key trend: top SLG titles that integrate simulation, RPG and other mechanics—so-called “SLG+” games—now account for over 80% of segment revenue.

💡 FoxData Insight: In mature markets, user acquisition alone isn’t enough. Only high-quality updates or precise reward-driven engagement ignite player spending.

IV.  Top 15 Google Play Revenue

The Android market shows stable revenue structure.

• Top 1–5 spots barely moved.

• Strategy and puzzle games dominate, reflecting steady spending, especially in emerging markets.

• Proven genres like SLG and match-3 form the core revenue base of Google Play.

👉 FoxData Weekly Report | VALORANT Shakes Up iOS Rankings, RPGs Dominate Google Play

February 2026 Preview: Spring Festival Rewards & Player Engagement

The Lunar New Year will dominate February, turning the mobile market into celebration mode and sparking a battle around Spring Festival spending.

Rewards Arms Race

Top publishers will roll out biggest login rewards, limited skins and promos of the year. It’s not just about new players—it’s about boosting loyalty and engagement.

Emotional Connections Peak

Social features take center stage. Family-friendly games like Heartopia, focused on “togetherness” and “co-building,” will resonate most. Guilds and team missions carry extra emotional weight, highlighting games’ social bond value.

Testing New Hits

January breakout titles like Royal Kingdom and Heartopia face their first test: can they turn early hype into long-term retention? Newly approved games targeting the festival add fresh competition.

💡 FoxData Insight: February charts will reward generosity, social warmth, and rich content. Games creating a “safe haven” for casual players or a deep virtual world for core fans will win.

The 2026 mobile gaming story is just beginning. Which title will shine this February?

👉 Register for a free FoxData trial to explore the full global rankings today.