Where Are Mobile Publishers Winning?

Where are mobile publishers winning?

A: Just six countries!

• Japan
• China
• South Korea
• Turkey
• Vietnam...

...and the US!

In Q3 2025, 1429 mobile games were released WW.

Given 90 days to mature, the results

Q3 launch cohort

• 21 successful launches from 1429 = 1.5% success rate
• For comp: Q2 had 22 successes of 1587 = 1.4% SR
• Most countries had zero successful releases
• Japan was #1 by success rate (8%), 3 wins (of 36)
• China was #2 (4.4% SR). 8 wins (of 181)
• South Korea #3 (3% SR) 2 successes, 66 attempts
• Turkey #4 (2.3% SR), 1 success: Pixel Flow!
• USA #5 with 2 successes; Solitaire Association Journey (though looks developed in Poland / Belarus)
• RPGs FTW (MMO, Idle, Team): 11 of 21 wins (52%)
• Hybrid-casual puzzle: 7 of 21 (33%)

Takeaways

• Overall, success rates (SR) remain very low (1.5%)
• Q3 strikingly similar to Q2 (geos, specialties, SRs)
• Path A: AAA Eastern IP RPG/4X stack, with 5% SR
• Path B. Spray & pray hybrid casual puzzle, 1.5% SR
• One change: Tier1 Pubs moving toward Path B

Path A Examples

• Japan continues to succeed worldwide with anime IP
• China #1 by success volume, with ambitiously-scoped MMOs, Idle RPGs, and 4X.

Path B Examples

• Vietnam, Turkey winning w/ flood of HybC puzzle games, a few wins.
• Tier-1 West publishers transitioning to Path B w/ some success (US, AUS)

Top Game Releases

#1 - Kaiju No. 8 (team battler from JP) #2 - Destiny Rising (looter shooter from China) #3 - Solitaire Associations Journey (word puzz, US) #4 - Pixel Flow! (hyb-casual puzzle, Turkey)

Methodology

• Games evaluated by weekly revenue since launch
• Success = $500k / mo. since launch date
• Ad Revenue estimated & included
• Games without WW distribution excluded
• Data from AppMagic