Mobile Gaming Today: Dec 23
ChatGPT App Store is Live, NCSOFT buys Lihuhu for $104M & More!
Christmas week here & almost New Year!
Wish you a great holiday season, cheers :))
Me? Working on a 2025-recap of Gamigion & Ömer. 🕺🏻
Will share some cool stuff with you on Monday.
Expect all our data and stuff… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
For the ones missing November AppsFlyer FR:
These 5 were crazy. Also, our Videos :))
Incrementality for UA
Signal Hub (Mastercard Data)
Creative Management Hub
Cross-Platform LTV
Agentic AI Suite
⭐️ Mobile Game Marketing
🦄 My Day-to-day UA Rhythm? First 21-day Timeline.
Get in.
🏹 Arrowslike: New Puzzle Subgenre in Mobile Gaming?
It all started with Miniclip’s summer release, Arrows: Puzzle Escape. A few months later, spotted 75 similar games!
💰 Jigsolitaire by Gamincat scaled to $100K a day!
It’s similar to the success of Disney Solitaire byPlaytika, which took the other road and monetized the Solitaire traffic through heavy puzzle game monetization.
👀 What features have the greatest impact on Revenue?
3 Features most strongly correlated with ARPDAU lift:
⚡ 𝟭𝟬-𝗪𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸: Permanent Reward System
🏆 𝗣𝗩𝗣 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 with Streak-Multiplied Points
🐖 𝗣𝗶𝗴𝗴𝘆 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸 (requires no explanation)
🇻🇳 Top 10 Vietnam Puzzle Games?
4 common mechanics in Vietnamese Top Puzzle Games:
Block Puzzle, 3D Sorting, Match 3 and Screw Puzzle
⚡️ November 2025: Mobile Gaming Creative Trends
King Shot is no longer a game; it’s a creative genre
AI creatives are now indistinguishable from real UGC
Solitaire & JigSolitaire playables hijacked half the charts
Fake ads still work. Ethics didn’t kill them
🇹🇷 Turks outexecuting each other. Not much innovation anymore?
There are many casual games coming out of Türkiye.
Art-wise, they look like they’re all made by Dream Games. So, now what?
🦧 Podcast of the Week?
Jagex CEO Jon Bellamy talks Community, Craft & AI.
Why RuneScape’s political system might be the most underrated retention strategy in gaming.
RuneScape isn’t just a live game.
It’s a long-running democracy with its own rules, culture, and identity. Jon says managing it often feels more like running a government than a studio.
🔥 Hottest Mobile Games
Top Picks here for ya! 👇🏻
Hottest Merge, Match-3, 4X, Hybrid & HC Games!
🧩 Spyke Games joins Match-3 train with Resort Match!
The real signal isn't the Genre; it’s the Characters.😶🌫️ Onesoft Global goes PvP!
Block Escape PvP, inspired by Color Block Jam?🤟🏻 Azur Games on Idle Arcade survival title: Zone X
Highly polished, wasteland survival, loot-driven loop.
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⚡️ Azur also pushed World War Heroes 2 into Beta.
Sequel to a 100M+ install franchise. WW2 shooter 🔫🧩 ZPLAY keeps pushing Puzzle tests with Fortune Sort!
Money-themed sort puzzle. Feels safe. A bit meh??🚨 Rollic moved 2 iOS tests to Android & its own Store!
• Ring Clash
Ring-themed twist on the Gecko Out mechanic.
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• Champion’s Journey
Continuation of Rollic’s IAP-focused runner strategy.🇪🇸 Spanish Idle King Codigames is on Voxel Safari!
🤟🏻 Industry Highlights!
🤑 Dream Games is Paying $7,000 Net to New Grads!
Paying $7,000 net to someone under 25,
in a country where the minimum wage is $600. COOL! 🦄
⚡️ YouTube Playables Builder: Gemini Turns Content Into Games
YouTube just enters the GAME! Meet Playables Builder
New Gemini 3–powered Game Creation Tool, now live in open beta.
😶🌫️ Denmark, Norway & Malaysia Join the Social Media Ban Wave!
After the under-16 social media ban in Australia, the dominoes are falling fast.
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, Threads, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat… 👀
🇰🇷🇻🇳 NCSOFT buys Lihuhu Games for $104M!
NCSOFT acquired 67% of Singapore-based Indygo Group for $103.8M, marking one of the most notable cross-region deals of 2025!
More? Take a quick look at Jenifer Vu and Tracy Phan’s takes!
Another: The Vietnam Gaming Paradox: What Data Says vs. What Market Misses
🦄 ChatGPT App Store is Live! Another Mobile Revolution?3
It’s BIG. This is the iPhone & App Store moment for AI.
Sam Altman says ChatGPT hit 800M WAU.
OpenAI hit $12B ARR in 3 years.
ChatGPT Mobile crossed $3B in consumer spend.
The AI App market adds $32B by 2029 at 44.9% CAGR.
⚡️ Mobile Gaming’s Quiet Comeback in Revenue & Monetization
However, a concerning trend emerged. Downloads are outpacing revenue growth.
🕺🏻 Gaming industry beats 2025 expectations!
Newzoo just updated its 2025 Gaming Report. Gaming this year will generate $197 bn and have a CAGR of 7%+ compared to earlier predictions of around 4%+.
Thank you for reading, really.
It’s fully FREE!
Feel free to pass it on to a friend; it’d make my day. 🕺🏻