The Casual mobile market in 2025 remains heavily concentrated, with Puzzle and Casino continuing to dominate revenue.
Yet beneath that stability, competitive dynamics are shifting. Merge-2 is accelerating, Hybridcasual Puzzles are gaining scale, and new challengers are proving that even the most established genres are never permanently secured.
Here is a summary of the latest AppMagic report on casual games.
Overall Takeaways
Top Grossing casual genres stays the same
Puzzle leads Casual revenue with $8.2B, followed by Casino at $6.2B and Simulation at $1.9B. Together, Puzzle and Casino account for more than 72% of total Casual revenue, reinforcing their outsized influence on the market.
Genre leaders remain dominant, but fast-growing newcomers are emerging
In Match-3 and Coin Looter—genres long dominated by single hits like Royal Match and MONOPOLY GO!—even top titles eventually lose momentum. When that happens, fast-moving challengers that adopt proven mechanics and strategies can break through. Recent success stories such as Match Villains and Top Tycoon, built on competitors’ best practices, show that genre dominance is never permanent.
Merge-2 are actively reshaping best practices
In Merge-2, leading studios such as Microfun are pushing experimentation around LiveOps formats and event density. Top titles like Gossip Harbor and Seaside Escape have effectively become LiveOps blueprints for the wider market.
The next wave of growth is already forming
Opportunity in mobile games doesn’t disappear—it shifts. Today, that shift points toward Hybridcasual Puzzles, which combine accessible gameplay with deeper progression, LiveOps, and scalable monetization. Built on lessons from the Hypercasual boom and the post-IDFA era, this segment is shaping up to be one of the most competitive battlegrounds heading into 2026.
Puzzle Games
Puzzle remained the core revenue driver of the Casual market in 2025 and was the only top genre to grow, surpassing $8.2B in revenue (+7.6% YoY) with downloads up 9.9%. While Match-3 continues to dominate, high revenue concentration limits entry for new titles. Merge-2 is growing rapidly but becoming increasingly consolidated, led by Gossip Harbor. As a result, many studios are shifting toward Hybridcasual games, drawn by lower entry barriers—though early leaders are already emerging.
Key Facts
Match-3 still dominates in the Puzzle genre
- Match-3 generated $4.8B in revenue in 2025 with 811M downloads (–8% YoY). Revenue remained essentially flat—moving within just 0.1% YoY—signaling a mature, highly stable market despite slowing download momentum.
- Merge surged to $1.4B in revenue in 2025 (+80% YoY) with 507M downloads (+9% YoY), clearly emerging as the fastest-growing Puzzle subgenre of the year
- Match-2 Blast reached $466M (+0.8% YoY) despite a sharp drop in downloads (–32% YoY).
Competition in Match-3 is fierce
- In 2025, only 4 out of 367 newly launched Match-3 titles surpassed $100K in monthly revenue even once. Notably, $100K per month is a very low benchmark for the genre, highlighting just how difficult it has become for new entrants to break through.
Dream Games is tightening its grip on the Match-3 market
- The publisher controls over 30% of total Match-3 revenue with just two titles—Royal Match and Royal Kingdom
- Dream Games expanded its market share in 2025, driven by the growth of Royal Kingdom, while its flagship title saw a modest 1% decline
- Royal Kingdom was one of only two new games to enter the Top-10 Match-3 chart in 2025
Gossip Harbor is dominating the Merge-2 genre
- Gossip Harbor alone now accounts for 33% of the subgenre’s revenue after posting 3x YoY growth last year
Hybridcasual Puzzles are emerging as a force the wider industry can’t ignore
- Since 2024, Sort and Screw puzzles have doubled their IAP revenue, generating $279M and $177M respectively, while Block Puzzles posted 10x YoY growth and reached $213M in revenue last year
- While the segment remains smaller than the largest Casual subgenres, its pace of growth positions it as one of the most promising areas to watch
Casino Games
Casino remained the second-largest Casual genre in 2025 with $6.9B in revenue, despite a 7.6% YoY decline. Downloads grew 15.7% YoY, highlighting ongoing challenges in converting new users into payers. While visually distinct from other Casual genres, Casino mechanics are increasingly influential—used in 50% of top Casual games’ LiveOps in 2025. Within the genre, Coin Looters show growing accessibility, with new titles like Top Tycoon breaking into the top ranks.
Key Facts
Slots remain the revenue anchor, while Coin Looters drive user growth
- Slots generated $2.7B in revenue (–14% YoY) with 496M downloads (+2.7% YoY)
- Coin Looters followed with $2.4B in revenue (–3% YoY) and stronger audience expansion at 186M downloads (+11% YoY)
- Casino Card Games earned $784M (–3% YoY) with 412M downloads, remaining largely flat (–0.5% YoY)
Revenue in Coin Looters remains highly concentrated
- The top three titles control nearly 90% of the genre’s revenue—MONOPOLY GO! ($1.3B), Coin Master ($650M) and Dice Dreams ($134M)
- At the same time, four new games broke into the Top-10 grossing Coin Looter chart, signaling that the competitive landscape has become more dynamic
Top Tycoon by BeheFun Games is the only 2025 release to break into the Coin Looter Top-10
- The title generated $29.6M in revenue and 11.7M installs
- It became BeheFun Games’ top-grossing title of the year
- By year-end, Top Tycoon ranked #6 among top-grossing Coin Looter games
Simulation Games
Simulation remained the third-largest Casual genre in 2025, generating $1.9B in revenue despite a 4.8% YoY decline, while downloads grew 5.3% YoY, indicating sustained player 3 interest. The segment is heavily driven by Farming titles, where long-running leaders continue to perform steadily and, in cases like Township, reach new highs.
Despite the genre’s maturity, new competition is still emerging, with three titles entering the top-10 chart in 2025. Simulation remains attractive thanks to its diverse mechanics and relatively simple design.
However, standing out requires a clear strategy and precise positioning in a crowded market.
Key Facts
Farming titles dominate at a scale no other Simulation subgenre can match
- Farming generated $955M in revenue (–2% YoY) from 317M downloads (+2.6% YoY), accounting for roughly half of the entire Simulation market
- Time Management earned $135M in revenue (–12% YoY) with 509M downloads (–5.4% YoY)
- Life Sim reached $135M in revenue (+1.4% YoY) from 291M downloads (–2.6% YoY)
Regional focus proved decisive for new Farming Top-10 entrants
- 2 of 3 newcomers in the Top-10 chart generated all of their 2025 revenue in China
- In contrast, most established Top-10 titles continue to rely primarily on the U.S. market for the bulk of their revenue
Playrix’s Township remains the clear leader in Farming and continues to grow more than a decade after launch
- The title generated over $400M in revenue in 2025
- It now accounts for more than 42% of total Farming IAP revenue
Goodville: Farm Game Adventure by Goodville AG breaks the Farming monetization pattern
- Three subscription plans rank among the game’s Top-10 revenue-generating offers, contributing over 12% of total revenue
- Unlike most top Farming titles—where subscriptions play a minor role—Goodville’s subscriptions drive steady income and perform strongly as first purchases, accounting for 12.7% of conversions
You can access AppMagic’s full report here.
