Key highlights from the mobile games report in August:
- With its nostalgic rubber hose animation and Tom and Jerry crossover, ACECRAFT quickly climbed to the top of the charts worldwide.
- Combining SLG and female-oriented match-3 gameplay, Yotta Games saw both of its flagship titles dominate the rankings.
- A new dark-themed Korean MMO, Vampir: Heir of Blood!, debuted at #1 on Korea’s top-grossing chart.
Top 20 Mobile Games by Advertising in September 2025
ACECRAFT goes global
In terms of art style, ACECRAFT stands out as the most distinctive title on the list. Its retro rubber hose animation style evokes nostalgia for early 20th-century American cartoons and even draws comparisons to the acclaimed Cuphead.
However, the gameplay is far simpler—an arcade-style shooter with roguelike mechanics that focuses on intense visuals and strong feedback. Developed by Moonton, ACECRAFT is published by Skystone Games in the U.S. and Vizta Games in over 170 other markets, topping free charts in more than 80 regions.
According to SocialPeta, ACECRAFT accumulated nearly 9,000 deduplicated ad creatives in September. The specific iOS advertising details are as follows:
- Advertising began on October 31, 2024, and has run for 344 cumulative days.
- Peak daily creatives in the past 30 days: 1,607 on September 10.
- Video creatives accounted for roughly 85%, with vertical 720×1280 videos being the most common.
- Ad copy languages: English accounts for about 48%, followed by Japanese, Korean, and Traditional Chinese.
ACECRAFT’s ad creatives mainly fall into three categories:
- Gameplay showcases + intentional failures.
- Retro animation — from eerie styles like Rotten Cheese to humorous ones inspired by Tom and Jerry.
- A comprehensive range of live-action promotions, including influencer gameplay showcases and scripted skit-style endorsements.
Gameplay showcases + intentional failures
Tom and Jerry Collaboration
Yotta: Female Games & SLG Dual Focus
While Yotta Games continues to focus on dinosaur-themed survival SLGs, its female-oriented match-3 title Hollywood Crush also entered the Top 20 advertisers list.
Meanwhile, Century Games stands as a prime example of a publisher excelling in both mid-core and female-oriented genres.
In terms of gameplay, Hollywood Crush features a classic blend of Western cartoon art, Hollywood career themes, female growth narratives, and match-3 mechanics, along with staple casual elements such as makeup, dress-up, simulation, and ASMR interactions. The game first launched a round of testing in August 2023, followed by major story revisions and a large-scale promotional push starting in June 2024.
According to SocialPeta, Hollywood Crush accumulated nearly 7,300 deduplicated ad creatives in September. The specific iOS advertising details are as follows:
- The game officially began advertising on May 22, 2024, accumulating 505 days of creatives in total.
- In the past 30 days, the daily peak of creatives reached 2,075 on September 5.
- Among all creatives over the past 30 days, video ads accounted for about 78%, with vertical 720×1280 videos being the most common format.
- In terms of ad copy languages, English made up about 67%, while German and French each accounted for 16%.
Hollywood Crush’s story-driven ad creatives are fast-paced and instantly recognizable — each one-minute clip packs in the drama of several short-series episodes, filled with familiar tropes and emotional climaxes.
The plots often revolve around jealous rivals snatching roles, jewelry, or clothes; a sick mother and a manipulative stepmother turning the father against the heroine; or the heroine being framed before her wealthy husband comes to her defense.
To align with the game’s Hollywood setting, “boss-lady comeback” storyline, and dress-up gameplay, ads featuring cheating partners or single mothers struggling to raise kids have been notably toned down.
The villainous rival steals the necklace
Leveraging AI-generated visuals, Hollywood Crush has launched a series of image creatives — ranging from heroine + pet, heroine + makeup, and heroine + outfit-change themes to standalone showcases of fashion and interior design.
Among them, the most eye-catching is the Barbie-style flat layout of the heroine, repeatedly used across campaigns and delivering impressive results.
Top 20 Mobile Games by Revenue in September 2025
Games with surging revenue on the App Store in September are:
- Microfun’s female-oriented merge game Gossip Harbor earned over $37 million on App Store in September, up 10% MoM.
- After Dream Games’ continued dominance, Peak Games titles also surged — Toon Blast exceeded $19 million, and Match Factory! topped $14 million.
Games with surging revenue on the Google Play in September are:
- Coin Master returns to the top of the match-3 chart, earning about $49M in September, up 1.8% MoM.
- Netmarble’s dark-themed MMO Vampir: Heir of Blood, launched on August 26, earning about $29M in September.
Top 20 Mobile Games by Downloads in September 2025
Games outstanding with downloads on the App Store in September are:
- The veteran title Clash Royale saw a remarkable surge, with approximately 7.2 million downloads on the App Store in September, up 139.5% month-on-month, with U.S. players accounting for 20.8% of the total.
- The casual sorting game Magic Sort! also performed well, recording around 2 million downloads on the App Store in September, down 1.7% month-on-month, maintaining stable operations.
Games outstanding with downloads on the Google Play in September are:
- Do you remember the childhood favorite game Dad ’n Me? Its sequel, Annoying Uncle Punch Game, achieved approximately 8 million Google Play downloads in September, representing a month-on-month increase of 32.1%.
- The highly promoted Mahjong match-3 game Vita Mahjong recorded over 10 million Google Play downloads in September, reflecting a month-on-month growth of 26.3%.
The above are insights into global mobile game launches in September 2025, as well as mobile game revenue and download situations across both the App Store and Google Play. For more mobile marketing data, you can visit www.socialpeta.com.
