Insightrackr has released the Mobile Game Downloads and Revenue Rankings for June 2025, based on its monitoring data of the global mobile market.
The rankings are divided into the Top 15 Mobile Games by Downloads and the Top 15 by Revenue, with an analysis of the advertising and ad creative strategies of popular games for the month.
Spotlight Case Studies: Music Piano 7 / Tile Explorer / Matchington Mansion
Top 15 Mobile Games by Downloads
New Titles from Vietnamese Developers
According to Insightrackr's app download rankings, a variety of popular casual game genres made it into this issue’s Top 15 list.
Among them, Melodya Muses’ rhythm game Music Piano 7: Rush Song Games—launched over two years ago—saw a sudden 82.17% MoM surge in downloads in June, climbing to No. 6.
XGame’s motorcycle racing title Moto Race Go saw a massive 140.14% MoM jump in downloads in June, catapulting 50 spots to rank No. 7—making it the fastest-rising dark horse this round.
Oakever Games' tile-matching game Tile Explorer: Tiles Clear also posted a strong performance, with downloads up 71.43%, pushing it into the Top 15.
New entries on the list include Paper.io 2 by Voodoo, a snake-style territory game, which recorded a 16.24% MoM increase in downloads.
Top 15 Mobile Games by Revenue
According to Insightrackr’s app revenue rankings, Free Fire MAX by GARENA claimed the top spot in June, following a 12x revenue surge in May. The game maintained strong momentum, with a high MoM growth rate of 247.17%.
This revenue “comeback” was largely driven by strategic operations in the Indian market—an area Insightrackr explored in detail in the previous issue. [Click here to revisit the case study.]
SciPlay’s Quick Hit Slots was the fastest-growing title by revenue in June, with a staggering 1932.98% MoM increase.
Match-3 games saw a collective surge in earnings: King’s Candy Crush Soda Saga spiked over 500% MoM, soaring to No. 3 and overtaking its sister title Candy Crush Saga.
Playrix’s puzzle hits Fishdom and Homescapes also posted strong gains, with MoM revenue growth of 304.88% and 202.11%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Magic Tavern’s breakout match-3 game Matchington Mansion shot up to No. 12, with an impressive 859.13% MoM revenue jump.
Mobile Game Advertising Case Analysis
01 Music Piano 7
Increased Ad Spend Contributed to Download Growth
Music Piano 7 is an Android mobile game. According to Insightrackr, the title significantly ramped up its creative volume starting in late June, with daily active creatives nearly doubling compared to May—reaching close to 300 per day.
Its ad placements were fairly evenly distributed across markets, with Vietnam—though the top target—accounting for just 5.23% of the total.
In terms of traffic sources—excluding data from ad libraries like Facebook—Mintegral emerged as Music Piano 7’s primary ad channel, accounting for 73.45% of its impressions, followed by AppLovin.
Major ad exposure came from placements on apps like CapCut, as well as games such as Standoff 2 and Stumble Guys.
The increased ad spend directly contributed to the game’s download growth. According to Insightrackr, Music Piano 7 reached nearly 14 million downloads in June, driven primarily by users in Latin America and Southeast Asia, with Brazil and Indonesia leading the way. Revenue followed a similar geographic pattern, with monetization largely driven by IAA.
The Mix of video and playable ads
On the creative front, the game leveraged a mix of video and playable ads. Given the gameplay’s emphasis on precision and rhythm, the videos often used a first-person perspective to simulate interaction, highlighting hand movements. Combined with impactful visual effects synced to the beat, these creatives enhanced the sense of satisfaction and immersion.
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Video Creatives |
Playable ads
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The playable ads featured dozens of tiles for users to tap, creating a longer, more interactive experience that allowed viewers to fully immerse themselves in the rhythm-based gameplay.
At the end of the ad, a mix of popular music styles—from Western hits to J-pop and K-pop—was showcased, along with viral tracks like “Tung Tung Tung Sahur,” tapping into a wide range of audience preferences and internet culture trends.
02 Tile Explorer
Massive Surge in Active Creatives
Tile Explorer is a classic tile-matching puzzle game that saw a significant spike in downloads in June, surpassing 9.6 million according to Insightrackr data.
India was the game’s largest source of downloads, accounting for 13.1%, followed by Brazil and the Philippines.
Tile Explorer has consistently maintained a high volume of ad creatives, averaging around 4,000 active creatives per day, and climbing to nearly 7,000 by the end of June. The campaigns were primarily targeted at APAC markets, with distribution fairly balanced across countries.
Excluding data from ad libraries like Facebook, AppLovin was the top ad channel for Tile Explorer, accounting for a dominant 88.79% share, followed by AdMob and Mintegral. The game heavily targeted utility and entertainment apps—such as World On Watch, Snaptube, and CapCut—whose users share similar behavior patterns, particularly a desire to fill fragmented time with light, engaging content.
The Use of Drama-style Ads
In terms of creative strategy, Tile Explorer also relied on a mix of video and playable ads. A notable format used was drama-style storytelling: one popular example begins with a short skit where a wealthy man pretends to be blind and drops money to test passersby. A kind stranger returns the cash and is rewarded—a classic narrative twist seen in short-form dramas.
The ad then transitions seamlessly into gameplay, turning the “reward” into the game itself. While the storyline may be exaggerated or illogical, it successfully captures curiosity and delivers a sense of gratification—making it highly effective in grabbing attention.
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Video Creatives |
Playable ads |
The playable ad picks up where the video leaves off, continuing with the tile-matching gameplay interface. It features guided finger taps and overlays of challenge-style text at the top—encouraging viewers to interact and try it out for themselves.
Tile Explorer primarily monetizes through IAA, with Brazil, Japan, and South Korea being its top revenue-contributing markets.
03 Matchington Mansion
Mainly U.S.-driven Revenue
Matchington Mansion is a long-standing match-3 game that has been live for 8 years and has attracted over 200 million players. According to Insightrackr, the game generated nearly $140 million in revenue in June, with the vast majority—99.1%—coming from the U.S. market.
In terms of ad activity, Matchington Mansion typically ran between 200–300 active creatives per day. However, by late June, that number steadily rose to over 300 per day. The campaigns were primarily focused on Tier-1 markets such as the U.S., Canada, and Japan.
The U.S. remained the top source of downloads, accounting for 10.86%, while emerging markets like India and Indonesia also became key acquisition sources.
Excluding data from Facebook and other ad libraries, AppLovin was the game’s top exposure channel, making up 87.76% of impressions. Ads were primarily served on general entertainment and utility apps such as loklok, CapCut, and Snaptube.
Empathy-driven Appeal to Female Players
Matchington Mansion’s creative strategy sticks to familiar formulas aimed at attracting female players. One standout video ad centers on the game’s core theme of home renovation: the female lead inherits a rundown mansion, cleans and restores it, and along the way, recalls heartwarming memories with her grandmother.
The ad contrasts dirty, neglected scenes with cozy, restored ones to leave a strong visual impression, while the storyline of independence and personal growth resonates with a female audience.
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Video Creatives |
Video Creatives |
Since match-3 games tend to attract a predominantly female audience, emotional resonance is a key creative strategy in their advertising. In another video ad, a shivering panda mother and child are shown braving the cold, accompanied by somber music—designed to evoke empathy and urge viewers to download the game.
That wraps up this issue. For classic casual games, the key to sustained success with video and playable ads lies in blending viral trends and short-drama elements into the creatives. Using emotional hooks tailored to specific audiences has become a reliable formula that evergreen games keep reusing effectively.
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