State of Casual Games in H1 2025

The first half of 2025 (H1’25) saw modest growth in the mobile casual games market, according to AppMagic. Casual games generated an estimated $12 billion in net revenue from in-app purchases (IAP), reflecting a 0.8% increase year-over-year. Downloads grew by 5.8%. AppMagic’s data excludes revenue from web shops and Android sales in China.

State of Casual Games in H1 2025

State of Casual Games in H1 2025

Revenue remained concentrated in a few genres, with Puzzle and Casino games accounting for 72% of the total. Simulation games ranked third, contributing 8% of overall revenue. Among the top 100 grossing casual games, 73 titles belonged to either Puzzle or Casino, with Puzzle represented by 32 games and Casino by 41. The market remains dominated by older titles, as more than half of these top games were released between 2015 and 2020. Only 11% of the top 100 games were launched since early 2023, highlighting the challenges faced by new releases in breaking into the market.

State of Casual Games in H1 2025

Puzzle Games

Puzzle games continued to be the leading casual genre, generating $4.6 billion in H1’25, a 13% increase compared with the previous year. The subgenres contributing most significantly to this growth included Match-3, Merge, and Match-2 Blast. Match-3 alone reached $2.7 billion in revenue, up 7% year-over-year, despite a 17% decline in installs to 394 million.

This growth was largely driven by Royal Match, which earned $788 million, and Candy Crush Saga, which reached $602 million and set a record for all-time IAP revenue. Together, these two titles accounted for more than half of the total Match-3 revenue, and without their contribution, the subgenre would have grown by only 1% year-over-year.

State of Casual Games in H1 2025

Match 3 Games

Royal Kingdom, a newer Match-3 title, scaled quickly, generating $98 million in seven months post-soft-launch, including $25 million in month seven. Growth was supported by ongoing product updates and a substantial user acquisition campaign, which included a celebrity marketing push featuring LeBron James and Shakira.

While downloads spiked, the revenue per download decreased from $3.18 in March to $2.65 in June, a change attributed to higher install volume from regions with lower lifetime value, while US revenue per download remained stable. Out of 213 Match-3 launches in H1’25, only three exceeded $100,000 in monthly revenue, yielding a success rate of 1.4%. Notable titles to monitor include Austin’s Odyssey by Playrix, Matching Story: Puzzle Games by Vertex Games, and Match Villains by Good Job Games.

State of Casual Games in H1 2025

Merge Games

Merge games also showed strong growth. Revenue for Merge-2 titles rose 94% year-over-year to $685 million, with installs increasing 32% to 147 million. Revenue per download improved from $3.2 to $4.7. Despite this growth, none of the 91 new releases in H1’25 surpassed $100,000 in monthly net revenue. Some shifts were observed at the top, with Tasty Travels: Merge Game and Merge Prison: Hidden Puzzle entering the top 10 for the first time.

Gossip Harbor achieved the number one revenue position, supported by a robust live operations strategy. Merge Mansion temporarily boosted revenue by increasing event frequency, though this effect diminished as players adapted to the higher content volume. Emerging titles to watch include Tasty Travels: Merge Games from Century Games and Flambe: Merge & Cook by Microfun.

State of Casual Games in H1 2025

Match 3D Games

Match 3D, which gained attention in 2024, underperformed in H1’25, with revenue declining 12% year-over-year to $193 million and installs falling 34% to 49 million. None of the 97 new projects reached $100,000 monthly revenue. Match Factory! dominated the subgenre with a 56% share of revenue, followed by Triple Match 3D with 22%, while all other titles combined represented the remaining 22%. New projects worth following include Blitz Busters by Spyke Games, Toy Match 3D: Triple Match by PLAYNEXX, and the newcomer Box Jam! - 3D Puzzle by Playoneer Games.

State of Casual Games in H1 2025

Hybrid-Casual Games

Hybrid-casual puzzle subgenres, such as Block, Screw, and Sort puzzles, experienced notable revenue growth. Block Puzzle increased twelvefold year-over-year, Screw Puzzle rose 2.8 times, and Sort Puzzle grew 2.2 times. These subgenres rely more heavily on ad monetization, making the $100,000 IAP benchmark less relevant.

Over 2,500 projects were launched across these subgenres in H1’25, with 376 Screw Puzzle titles and more than 2,000 combined Sort and Block projects. New titles such as Wool Sort, which incorporated yarn-based mechanics and metaprogression, attracted over seven million downloads in Q2’25. Other games to watch include Cube Busters by Spyke Games, Knit Out by Rollic, and Wool Craze - Yarn Color Sort 3D by SparkWish.

State of Casual Games in H1 2025

Casino Games

Casino games ranked second in casual revenue, generating approximately $4 billion in net IAP, a 15% decline compared with H1’24. The main subgenres included slots, casual casino, and card gambling. Slots earned $1.6 billion from 245 million installs, casual casino generated $1.2 billion from 78 million installs, and card gambling reached $455 million from 229 million installs. AppMagic highlighted the increasing use of casino mechanics, such as dice, slots, and Plinko, in non-casino genres and standalone titles.

State of Casual Games in H1 2025

Casual Casino Games

Casual casino revenue declined 33% year-over-year, primarily due to the reduced performance of Monopoly GO!, which had earned $1.26 billion in H1’24. Excluding Monopoly GO!, revenue was stable compared with the previous year. Playtika maintained a strong position through the acquisitions of InnPlay Labs and SuperPlay, which together generated $136 million in H1’25, a 5% increase year-over-year. The top three titles accounted for 93% of subgenre revenue. New entries included Coin Car Games: Simulator and Top Tycoon: Coin Theme Empire.

Plinko games showed notable growth in H1’25. Plinko Galaxy remained the leading title, while the newcomer Drop Balls x1000: Drop & Win targeted markets in India and Pakistan, generating 65 million installs, a 6.5-fold increase, and $316,000 in revenue, representing a 3,600% rise year-over-year. While the subgenre is unlikely to achieve large-scale growth, it remains a viable niche for steady earnings.

State of Casual Games in H1 2025

Simulation Games

Simulation games ranked third by IAP revenue among casual titles, generating $1.1 billion in H1’25, a 5% increase year-over-year. Farming games were the primary contributor, earning $560 million from 151 million installs, while time management games earned $85 million and life simulation titles reached $80 million.

Despite steady revenue, only a small fraction of new simulation games achieved significant success, with just one of 55 new farm sims surpassing $100,000 in monthly revenue. Township led the subgenre with $237 million in revenue and a record $43.6 million in January 2025, supported by frequent live events, including Match-3 integrations. Other games gaining traction include Goodville: Farm Game Adventure and Sunshine Island: Farming Game.

State of Casual Games in H1 2025

Challenges for New Game Launches

The mobile casual market in H1’25 continues to show a high barrier to entry for new games. Only a small proportion of new releases exceeded $100,000 in monthly revenue, while established IPs dominate revenue across Puzzle, Casino, and Simulation genres. Market success increasingly depends on live operations, product updates, and strategic user acquisition campaigns. Developers entering the market face the dual challenge of differentiating their titles while meeting player expectations for frequent content and engagement.

Final Thoughts

H1’25 in mobile casual games is defined by modest revenue growth, sustained dominance of Puzzle and Casino genres, and limited success among new game launches. Subgenres continue to experiment with hybrid mechanics, ad monetization, and live operations strategies, but market outcomes remain heavily concentrated among a few established titles. Developers seeking growth must focus on innovation, effective user acquisition, and leveraging IP collaborations while navigating a highly competitive market. Here is a list of all the games mentioned:

1. Royal Match
2. Candy Crush Saga
3. Royal Kingdom
4. Austin’s Odyssey (Playrix)
5. Matching Story: Puzzle Games (Vertex Games)
6. Match Villains (Good Job Games)
7. Tasty Travels: Merge Game
8. Merge Prison: Hidden Puzzle
9. Gossip Harbor
10. Merge Mansion
11. Flambe: Merge & Cook (Microfun)
12. Match Factory!
13. Triple Match 3D
14. Blitz Busters (Spyke Games)
15. Toy Match 3D: Triple Match (PLAYNEXX)
16. Box Jam! - 3D Puzzle (Playoneer Games)
17. Wool Sort
18. Cube Busters (Spyke Games)
19. Knit Out (Rollic)
20. Wool Craze - Yarn Color Sort 3D (SparkWish)
21. Monopoly GO!
22. InnPlay Labs (Animals & Coins) – acquisition by Playtika
23. SuperPlay (Dice Dreams) – acquisition by Playtika
24. Coin Car Games: Simulator (Celestial Roads)
25. Top Tycoon: Coin Theme Empire (BeheFun Games)
26. Plinko Galaxy
27. Drop Balls x1000: Drop & Win
28. Township
29. Hay Day
30. Goodville: Farm Game Adventure (Goodville AG)
31. Sunshine Island: Farming Game (Goodgame Studios)