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May 2025 Top Mobile Games by Downloads & Revenue

Author: Daisy

Gain global ad intelligence and marketing insights on Insightrackr

Insightrackr has released the Mobile Game Downloads and Revenue Rankings for May 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: Brainrot Tip Tap Challenge / Meme Merge: Drop Puzzle / Free Fire MAX
 

Top 15 Mobile Games by Downloads

 

New Titles from Vietnamese Developers

In May, Vietnamese game developers once again showcased their strong user acquisition skills, propelling new titles to breakout success in the global mobile gaming market.
According to Insightrackr’s mobile game download rankings, Brainrot Tip Tap Challenge by Duong Nguyen Van quickly soared to No. 7 shortly after its launch.
Bravestars’ Meme Merge: Drop Puzzle also broke into the top 10 downloads despite being available only on Google Play. However, the game is currently no longer listed.
 

May 2025 Top Mobile Games by Downloads

 

The Trending 'Italian Brainrot'

Both titles tapped into the trending Italian brainrot memes popular on social platforms.
Brainrot Tip Tap Challenge leveraged the viral TikTok voice-control game filter for user acquisition. It’s essentially a reskin of titles like Mini Games: Calm & Relax and Tik Tap Challenge, which were previously analyzed by Insightrackr in October last year (click here to review).
Meme Merge: Drop Puzzle combines the mechanics of the popular “merge watermelon” game with elements like brainrot memes and capybaras, creating a hybrid design.
Another title that climbed to No. 14 in the download chart is Merge Fellas, another “merge watermelon-like” game. Its downloads surged by 31,370.44% MoM. The game also features Italian brainrot memes in both content and ad creatives.
Its developer Popa Radu, known for multiple capybara-themed games, is adept at blending short-term pop culture trends.
In addition, Royal Kingdom, which launched in September 2023 and reached No. 9 in the revenue chart in March, saw a notable download spike in May—up 125.96% MoM—landing at No. 11. The game is the sequel to Royal Match (click here to review).
 

Top 15 Mobile Games by Revenue

 

Battle Royale Games Surge

According to Insightrackr's mobile game revenue rankings, battle royale shooter games saw a significant surge in revenue in May.
GARENA’s Free Fire MAX recorded a staggering 1222.09% MoM revenue increase, jumping to second place on the chart. Its base version, Free Fire, which has been live for eight years, also saw revenue rise by more than 30%.
KRAFTON’s BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA, the localized Indian version of PUBG, was the top gainer in May with an astonishing 6169.58% increase in revenue, soaring 199 spots to rank ninth.
These strong performances were largely driven by the Indian market, and Free Fire MAX will be analyzed in detail in the upcoming creative case section.
 
May 2025 Top Mobile Games by Revenue
 

Other Long-Standing Top-Grossing Games

In addition, Royal Kingdom, which also saw strong download growth, posted a robust revenue increase of 211.8% MoM.
The long-standing top-grossing SLG title Last War: Survival Game by WhatsFun also experienced significant revenue growth in May, rising 115.20%. Its “hyper-casual + SLG” hybrid gameplay continues to deliver notable results.
 

Mobile Game Advertising Case Analysis

 

01 Brainrot Tip Tap Challenge

How to Scale User Acquisition Rapidly

Brainrot Tip Tap Challenge was quickly launched and scaled after reskinning a proven casual game model. According to Insightrackr, its ad creatives surged rapidly in May, peaking at around 250 active creatives in a single day. The top three target markets were Vietnam, the United States, and Brazil.
 

Brainrot Tip Tap Challenge advertising, download & revenue data

 

In terms of traffic channels, Insightrackr data shows that Mintegral was its top ad exposure channel in May, accounting for over 80%. Key sub-channels included popular casual games such as Stumble Guys, Hole.io, and Block Blast!.

TikTok-style Creatives

As another tribute to Tik Tap Challenge, Brainrot Tip Tap Challenge heavily invested in TikTok-style creatives.
These ads often feature real people on camera, mimicking TikTok filters and challenge formats—such as repeating Italian Brainrot memes names in one second or engaging in voice-controlled gameplay—to create a social media vibe and reduce early swipe-away rates.
 

Brainrot Tip Tap Challenge ads video

Video Ad of repeating Italian Brainrot memes names

Brainrot Tip Tap Challenge ads video

Video Ad of voice-controlled gameplay
 
According to Insightrackr, the game surpassed 12 million downloads in May, with its user base primarily coming from Indonesia (14.74%), India (7.55%), and Brazil (6%). However, its revenue remains relatively low.

02 Meme Merge: Drop Puzzle

Concentrated Scaling is also a Key Factor

The merge game Meme Merge: Drop Puzzle launched back in November 2023. It swapped traditional merge elements for trendy Brainrot memes and featured the viral Capybara in its icon.
The game’s download surge in May was driven by concentrated scaling. According to Insightrackr, daily active creatives neared 400 and continued rising, pushing monthly downloads past 11 million.
 
 
Meme Merge: Drop Puzzle advertising, download & revenue data
 
 
The top three markets for Meme Merge: Drop Puzzle’s ad placements were Indonesia, Brazil, and Japan—aligning with its download sources. Indonesia led with 23.65%, followed by Brazil (8.31%) and Mexico (7.15%).
Its traffic distribution closely mirrored that of Brainrot Tip Tap Challenge. According to Insightrackr, excluding ad library data, Mintegral accounted for 86.99% of total ad impressions. Key sub-channels included Stumble Guys, Hole.io, and Block Blast!.

'Tung Tung Tung Sahur' Creatives

The creatives of Meme Merge: Drop Puzzle showcase the game interface where various strange creatures are merged, with a strong focus on the influencer character Tung Tung Tung Sahur. The background voice mimics the style of YouTube pranksters, repeatedly saying the character’s name to create a catchy, brainwashing effect.
 

Meme Merge: Drop Puzzle ads video

Creative of Tung Tung Tung Sahur

Meme Merge: Drop Puzzle ads video

Playable Ad of Tung Tung Tung Sahur

 
The creative strategy uses a combination of videos and playable ads. The playable ads replicate the gameplay shown in the videos, maintaining consistency. Currently, Meme Merge: Drop Puzzle has generated some revenue, mainly through in-app advertising (IAA), with key income markets being Mexico, Brazil, and Indonesia.

03 Free Fire MAX

Contribution from the Indian Market

Free Fire MAX is an enhanced version of Free Fire and had previously faced a decline in revenue.
 
 
Free Fire MAX advertising, download & revenue data
 
 
According to Insightrackr, Free Fire MAX's revenue exceeded $447 million in May, with the Indian market contributing the vast majority, accounting for over 90% of revenue.
Downloads also mainly came from India (70.01%), followed by Indonesia and Vietnam.

Operations and Advertising Strategy Targeting India

In fact, the revenue growth of Free Fire MAX is mainly attributed to its event operations and advertising strategy targeting the Indian market:
  • Event Operations: From May 12 to 28, Free Fire MAX launched a cricket-themed event called “Battle on Cricket Island”, featuring a limited-time cricket map and gameplay blending battle and sports elements, along with cricket-related ad creatives. The event coincided with the IPL (Indian Premier League) knockout and finals stage, which is the period of highest IPL attention and viewership. Cricket is India’s national sport with deep cultural influence. Launching a cricket-themed event targeting India—the game’s largest market—maximized user acquisition and engagement.
  • Advertising Strategy: In preparation for Free Fire’s 8th anniversary in June, the team ramped up efforts starting in May. Free Fire MAX released promotional videos for the Booyah Awards, Garena’s first offline community celebration and awards ceremony for Free Fire MAX, scheduled for June 7, 2025, in Kolkata, India. The promo video features local Indian actors in Hindi-language comedic shorts to attract player attention.

 

Free Fire MAX ads video

Creative of cricket-themed event

Free Fire MAX ads video

Video of Booyah Awards

 
According to Insightrackr, Free Fire MAX reached a peak of approximately 150 active ad creatives per day in early May, with 90% of the ads targeting the Indian market. In terms of traffic channels, its ad exposure is highly concentrated on AdMob. The main sub-channels are similar shooting and battle royale games, including Vegas Crime Simulator (10.42% of exposure) and Cyber Gun: Battle Royale Games (7.25% of exposure).
 
In summary, May saw a group of games blending brainrot memes successfully break out through focused user acquisition.
Meanwhile, for products like Free Fire MAX with established national recognition, ongoing event operations and well-executed advertising strategies remain key to maintaining player engagement and consolidating market position.
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Last modified: 2025-06-27