Semantic Core: How To Optimise Your ASO 🚀

Almost two months after Squid Game Season 2, inspired games are still trending in AppMagic’s Top Rankings: 456 Run Challenge: Clash 3D holds №2 this month! ⭐️

After Season 1, over 800 related games launched. Some remain, now joined by new ones. With such competition, how can your game stand out? 🤔

You need to help users find your game—this is where ASO optimization comes in:

🍪 AppMagic’s Semantic Core Graph identifies competitors with similar ASO and tracks success through revenue, downloads, and visibility. For 456 Run Challenge, only four games hit 1M+ installs—they are perferct for analysing their ASO.

🦑 Competitors’ Top Keywords reveal commonly used terms. For 456 Run Challenge, competitors often use “cookie game,” “squid,” or “cookie doodle.”

Once the core of your game is ready, ASO optimization can be a powerful tool to bring it to market.

Learn more about AppMagic’s Semantic Core Graph here 💡

Call of Duty Mobile Hits $3B in User Spending 🔥

Activision Publishing’s top-grossing and most-downloaded mobile game has reached a major milestone, now accounting for 97% of the publisher’s total mobile revenue 💰

Moreover, if we factor in the user spending from CoD Mobile Garena—a Southeast Asian version of the game—total user spending increases by an additional $340M!

The game has also maintained a stable monthly download rate, consistently ranging between 3M and 4M over the past two years 💪

A well-deserved applause for the studio’s ability to sustain both engagement and revenue for such an extended period! 👏

Don’t forget to check out the game’s public AppMagic card: https://appmagic.rocks/iphone/call-of-duty%28r%29-mobile/1287282214?utm_source=AMTelegram

Kill or Pivot: A Comprehensive Guide for Mobile Game Devs 🎯

Every developer hits a crossroads: keep iterating, pivot, or shut the game down and move on?

Together with Appodeal Publishing, we’ve put together a practical guide to help you make data-driven decisions 🤝

https://bit.ly/4bihiBP

Inside, we break down three essential questions every developer must ask:

📉 When is it time to pivot?
— Spot the warning signs early and identify opportunities to shift direction.

🔄 How to pivot smartly?
— Learn the best strategies to reposition your game for a better market fit without starting from scratch.

❌ When to walk away?
— Sometimes, the best move is to cut losses—but knowing when is the hardest part.

At the end of the article, you’ll find a practical checklist to help you navigate these tough decisions step by step. ✅

Read the full guide here:
https://bit.ly/4bihiBP

Checklist: Do You Need to Pivot Your Game? 🏎️

Every game developer faces a moment of doubt—should you push forward with your project or call it a day? 🏁

To help you navigate this decision, we’ve put together a checklist that will bring some clarity 💡

Once you've gone through it, the next step is to check out our report, created in partnership with Appodeal, to map out your pivot strategy: https://appmagic.rocks/blog/how-to-pivot-mobile-game?utm_source=AMTelegram

Top Grossing Mobile Game Publishers (2015-2024)

Huge shoutout to Anton Slashcev for this blockbuster video! 🔥

In just a few seconds, watch how the landscape shifted over 9 years—from Supercell leading with $550M in revenue to Tencent dominating the market with a staggering $51B.

Guess which company held its ground all along? King! ⭐️

Catch all the industry shake-ups in the video!

If you want to make other types of rankings, use AppMagic Top Publishers page.

How Original Games Boosted Merge Inn's ARPDAU by 13% with AppMagic Monetization Intelligence 🚀

🎯 Goal
Original Games aimed to boost revenue without altering the game’s core. Market research pointed to optimizing in-game offers as the best strategy.

🔑 Key Improvements
Using AppMagic’s Monetization Intelligence designed to analyse the most effective IAP offers, Original Games decided to implement the following changes:
— Double Offers Redesign
— Triple Offers Introduction
— 1+1 Offers Revamp

💰Results
A mix of monetization optimization and seasonal promotions allowed to enhance key US metrics:
— ARPDAU (IAP): +13.3%
— Conversion: +9.28%
— ATV: +1.74%

👉 Read the full case study for a deep dive into the analytical methodology and monetization strategies

Top 10 Shooters by Revenue

In 2025, the genre’s monthly revenue surpassed $350M for the first time since 2021, fueled by PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile 🚀

The top 3 revenue leaders remain stable: in the past year PUBG Mobile holds 36% of the market, followed by Call of Duty Mobile (10%) and Cross Fire (7%), together making up over 50% of total revenue, not including regional versions of games!

Only one game crossed $1B in annual revenue last year, with just five others exceeding $100M 🏁

While most YoY changes were mild, newcomer Hunting Sniper surged 292% YoY 🎯

Do you see a new contender breaking into the top 10 this year? Explore the dashboard to find the one 🔍

How Original Games Increased Conversions by 40%? They Added 1+1 Offers 💡

We recently conducted a case study with Original Games, exploring how they boosted key metrics through monetization optimization using AppMagic’s Monetization Intelligence.

✏️ 1+1 Offers
Our analysis of top Merge-2 games revealed that 1+1 offers are quite effective in the genre.

💪How they work
These offers provide players with a bonus of equal or similar value when making a purchase, significantly enhancing perceived deal value. Key features:
— Visually distinct bundles, reinforcing the feeling of getting something extra.
— FREE claim button, making the reward more satisfying.
— Limited item variety (4 types), allowing quick deal evaluation.
— Attention-grabbing noscripts like “BUY 1 & GET 1 FREE!” to ensure visibility.

😎Result
A new 1+1 Offer type, Spooky Deal, achieved up to 40% higher conversion than regular single-item offers of the same value.

Read more in our case study 📚

I Am Security: From VR to Mobile 📱

Ranked №1 among the Top Trending Free Games last month, I Am Security by New Folder Games has already surpassed 11M downloads since its February release—and it's still climbing, with over 450k daily installs 💣

Originally launched as a VR experience on Meta Quest, the game has now made its way to mobile, which is not a very typical case for this type of games!

In I Am Security, players take on the role of a bouncer, scanning guests for prohibited items and ensuring they adhere to the club's dress code before allowing entry 🔍

The game’s viral success can largely be credited to YouTube and TikTok, where creators have showcased the many ways to "abuse" their power as a bouncer—yes, there are quite a few questionable interactions you can have while checking guests 😈

Curious about what those are? See for yourself via the link!

How  Merge Mansion Increased Its Revenue by 50% Trying to Reclaim Its Top Spot 🏆

Merge Mansion ruled the Merge-2 genre for 3.5 years—until 2024, when Gossip Harbor, Travel Town, and Seaside Escape pushed it down to fourth place 📉

One key reason for losing its position was a significant lag in LiveOps: Merge Mansion fell behind the competitors in both the frequency and variety of events.

But soon after losing its leadership, Merge Mansion started catching up! While it hasn’t reclaimed the top yet, the game boosted its revenue by 50% and hit an all-time high in monthly earnings 🚀

In our new article with Shilpa Gaur from GameMakers, we dive into this case, exploring:
— LiveOps trends and standards in Merge-2 with Meta
— How event frequency and diversity fueled Merge Mansion’s revenue growth
— What new events Merge Mansion introduced and why they stand out

That’s a major lesson we all need to learn, so don’t spend another minute—get into it straight away!

Top Grossing Games in Scopely Portfolio (2015-2025)

With Scopely acquiring Niantic’s gaming business—securing 76% of Location-Based market revenue—it’s time for a portfolio retrospective 🔍

From $178M total revenue in 2015, Scopely has now surpassed $7.8B!

The #1 game in Scopely’s portfolio has changed over the years, but with the arrival of Monopoly Go!—which accounted for 84% of total portfolio revenue and 67% of the Casual Casino genre’s revenue in 2024—it looks like its position is secured for the long run 💪

Scopely also found success in Midcore: Marvel Strike Force (RPG) hit $806M lifetime revenue, while Star Trek Fleet Command (4X Strategy) reached $668M.

In Solitaires, Tiki Solitaire TriPeaks ranked #2 in the genre, generating 16% of total market revenue in 2024 ⭐️

Explore Scopely’s portfolio! A major market shift is coming 🚀

Original Games Increased Transaction Price by 9.3% with a Double Offer Redesign 🤔

🤝 Double Offers

Side-by-side offers subtly nudge players toward the pricier option — especially with smart tricks designed to make the more expensive choice feel like the better deal.

🎯 The Problem

Original Games used Double Offers but weren’t making the most of them. The design didn’t fully highlight the value of the pricier option, leaving room for improvement.

✨ The Upgrade

To better communicate value, they:
— Increased the value gap between offers
— Kept only identical items in both packs
— Added more items to the premium pack
— Used a ‘Best Value’ badge to highlight the best deal
— Introduced a ‘Buy All’ option for purchasing both packs at once

🏁 The Results

+3.17% in transaction price (without ‘Buy All’)
+9.22% in transaction price (with ‘Buy All’)
30% more users chose the premium or ‘Buy All’ option

🤯 That’s only one of the upgrades Original Games introduced!

👉 Discover how Original Games refined their monetization strategy using AppMagic Monetization Intelligence — and see the results in the full article.

How to track new releases with Advanced Search 🚀

One of the best ways to spot the trends that can benefit your game’s metrics is to look at the best performing new releases 👀

In AppMagic you can do it in two steps using Advanced Search:
1️⃣ Choose the release period: March 2025
2️⃣ Select the tag: Games

💡If you want to narrow your search, select a specific tag:  Casual, Midcore, Puzzle, 4X Strategy, or 500 others.

In fact you can customize your selection using a bunch of additional filters, such as:
— Active users
— Retention
— Ad spend range
— Geography
— Publisher HQ: Official and Actual
— Stores & Category
— Localisation
— Raiting

And that’s only 8 filters out of 30! It’s called Advanced Search for a reason 😉

Try it out yourself!

How Merge Mansion Improved Its LiveOps to Boost Revenue by 50% 🎢

Remember how Merge Mansion lost its top spot in 2024? One of the key reason was limited LiveOps. Check out the chart below—see the event distribution gap between Merge Mansion and its competitors? 😮‍💨

To fix this, Merge Mansion went all in on LiveOps optimization:
— Increased event frequency and variety, narrowing the gap.
— Rolled out new formats inspired by top Merge-2 games—like Teatime Delight, Lucky Catch, and Supercharge.
— Expanded player motivations with PvP and collection events to engage broader audiences.
— Launched new monetization features, including the Merge it Up! weekly pass, offering more revenue paths and budget-friendly options.

The result? A record $11.97M in December 2024, nearly 50% higher in less than a year🔥

Dive deeper into Metacore’s top-performing LiveOps and its innovative mechanics in our deconstruction with Shilpa Gaur from GameMakers!

F4 Fund: How We Evaluate Mobile App Opportunities 🦄

Our good friend Joakim Achren shares how the F4 Fund team assesses early-stage mobile apps.

Here’re the key steps they always follow:

🧑‍💻Founder Assessment: Look at the founders’ past ventures, relevant experience, and clarity of vision.

📱Product Evaluation: The team tests the app themselves—checking UX, design, innovation, and monetization with AppMagic’s Monetization Intelligence.

📊Market Analysis: They identify trends, entry barriers, fragmentation, and regional scaling potential using AppMagic Tops and Market Segments.

💭User Psychology Assessment: They analyse retention hooks and engagement loops to gauge long-term user potential.

Joakim also shares a real-life example of how they evaluated AfterHour for a potential investment!

Check out how F4 Fund applies this framework automate outbound in the full article 🔥

How to find a new game idea or pivot direction? 🤔

1️⃣ Check trending games

The simplest way is to use AppMagic’s Top Trending!

How to find it:
— Apps > Top Trending
— Choose ‘Gainers’, the tag and the period.

Voila! You have the list of the hottest games in the chosen genre by downloads and revenue.

2️⃣ Find out which games are on decline

Why? This can offer you an insights which game mechanics and trends have outlived themselves.

3️⃣ Investigate what competitors are working on right now

Simply check the ‘New only’ box!

Thus, you can stay fully up-to-date and never miss the hottest market tendencies.

4️⃣ Learn geography of your audience and competitors

You only need to filter out by ‘Geography’ and ‘Publisher HQ’.

This will help you to catch what is popular in the different regions to decided if and where to scale.

💡Spot your new hot idea straight away with Top Trending.

Dreamy Room: Home Design With Puzzle Touch ✨

ABI Games Studio’s new hypercasual hit Dreamy Room has taken off—surpassing 7.2M downloads within its first month and attracting 309K daily active users (and counting!) 🚀

In the game, players are challenged to strategically arrange all the furniture, considering space layout and functionality to complete levels that progressively increase in difficulty 💪

To maintain engagement, developers are continuously adding new levels, daily challenges, progress tracking, and rewards 🏅

Try it out yourself!

How Original Games Boosted Average Transaction Value by 11% with Triple Offers 😎

🤝 Triple Offers
Three offers shown side-by-side that guide players toward a higher-priced option. Unlike Double Offers, they allow smaller steps between prices, making upgrades feel easier.

💡 The Upgrade
Building on the success of Double Offers, Original Games introduced Triple Offers, that encourage low spenders to gradually move up and improving overall monetization potential.

🏁 The Results
— 93% of buyers chose a higher tier than usual
— Average spend per purchase grew by 43%
— ATV was ~11% higher on Triple Offer days

Explore how Original Games refined their monetization strategy with AppMagic Monetization Intelligence 😉