Insightrackr has released the September 2025 Global Mobile Game Rankings for Downloads and Revenue, based on its comprehensive monitoring of the worldwide mobile market.
These rankings are derived from Insightrackr's proprietary estimates of app download volume and gross revenue, listing the Top 15 Short Mobile Games by Downloads and the Top 15 Mobile Games by Revenue, alongside in-depth analyses of notable cases in advertising strategy and creative execution.
Top 15 Mobile Games by Downloads
The top tier of the download chart remained largely stable in September. According to Insightrackr data, Roblox continued to dominate as the most downloaded game, maintaining its long-standing advantage in user acquisition. Subway Surfers and Block Blast! switched positions, ranking second and third respectively.
Vietnamese developer XGame VN's Prison Master: Escape Journey stood out as the most remarkable newcomer. With its unique “prison escape” theme and highly dramatic gameplay, the game debuted at No. 5 globally, emerging as one of the month's strongest breakout performers.
As previously discussed in Insightrackr's earlier reports (Click to Read) , the “prison escape” concept has become one of 2025's trending themes—a niche narrative that continues to attract strong user interest. The success of Prison Master further validates the creative and emotional potential of this genre.
Three other titles also recorded notable growth:
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Ludo King downloads rose 41.83% MoM
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Free Fire MAX increased 26.10% MoM
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Clash Royale surged by 57.6% MoM
According to public information, Clash Royale launched its Season 75 – Back to Drool in September, introducing new features such as Baby Dragon evolution and new tower skins. These updates successfully re-engaged both new and returning players, driving visible boosts in installs and activity.
Top 15 Mobile Games by Revenue
Revenue among the top-grossing titles showed mild corrections in September, though overall declines remained limited. According to Insightrackr's estimates, most leading games saw MOM revenue dips under 20%, keeping the overall ranking order relatively stable.
After the second chapter of its collaboration with Naruto Shippuden ended in late August, both Free Fire and Free Fire MAX reported notable revenue drops in September. The decline reflects a natural cooldown after August's short-term monetization peak driven by event hype.
In contrast, Genshin Impact celebrated its 5th anniversary on September 28, alongside the rollout of its Version 6.0 update and the launch of a new region, Nod-Krai. The combination of fresh content, celebratory activities, and community resonance fueled a 29.98% MoM revenue increase, making it one of the strongest gainers on this month's revenue chart.
Mobile Game Advertising Case Analysis
01 Prison Master: Escape Journey
Developed by XGame VN, Prison Master: Escape Journey launched on Google Play in late August.
According to Insightrackr's estimates, the game surpassed 18 million downloads in its first month, demonstrating a remarkable cold-start performance.
In gameplay, players must guide the protagonist through prison escapes, avoiding guards and planning routes to freedom. By combining escape and strategy mechanics with a fast-paced, tension-driven rhythm, the game achieved rapid post-launch momentum.
In terms of advertising strategy, Insightrackr data shows that Prison Master began aggressive advertising immediately upon launch, with its daily active ad creatives exceeding 350 at peak.
AdMob and Mintegral accounted for nearly 80% of total ad impressions, indicating a strong reliance on global mobile channels.
Strategically, the campaign adopted a broad global reach approach, maximizing visibility across major markets. While such a strategy carries higher risk, it successfully delivered large-scale downloads in a short timeframe.
By market structure, India contributed 39.24% of downloads and 8.30% of total revenue, ranking as its largest source market.
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From a creative perspective, the UA team leveraged AI-generated short videos, crafting emotionally charged narratives around themes like escape, betrayal, and heartbreak. These segments often served as the hook scenes in ads—using emotional tension and defiance as triggers to drive high engagement and click-through rates.
Throughout 2025, “prison escape” narratives have shown sustained growth momentum in the mobile gaming market. Their mix of tension, novelty, and rebellious energy continues to resonate with users, presenting a new subgenre worth close attention for publishers and developers alike.
02 ACECRAFT
ACECRAFT, developed and published by Moonton Games, is a bullet-hell shooter that launched globally on August 28. The game had already amassed over 8 million pre-registrations prior to release, signaling high market anticipation.
According to Insightrackr data, ACECRAFT began running ads nearly two months before launch, underscoring its focus on pre-registration marketing. On launch day and the following day, the game reached around 1,700 active ad creatives per day, before gradually stabilizing—demonstrating a “launch week burst” strategy designed for maximum early exposure.
After excluding Facebook data, AdMob emerged as its primary traffic source.
Regionally, Japan and South Korea were ACECRAFT's key focus markets, both in ad volume and revenue contribution—Japan alone accounted for over 40% of total revenue.
Meanwhile, the Latin American market delivered a relatively high share of downloads, likely due to lower user acquisition costs.
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Creatively, the marketing team localized its campaigns with live-action short drama-style creatives tailored for Japanese and Korean audiences, using narrative storytelling to enhance engagement. At the same time, the game's retro rubber-hose cartoon art style—a nostalgic aesthetic reminiscent of early animation—was heavily emphasized across creatives, establishing a strong visual identity.
This blend of nostalgic design and high-tempo bullet gameplay gave ACECRAFT a distinctive personality and helped it carve out an art-style niche in the competitive shooter category.
03 Solitaire Associations: Words
Published by Hitapps Games, Solitaire Associations: Words launched on Google Play (late August) and App Store (mid-September). According to Insightrackr data, the game quickly rose to the top of free charts across multiple markets within weeks of release.
The game combines two classic mechanics—Solitaire and Word Puzzle—into a single experience. Players draw “word cards” from the deck and match them to corresponding “category cards” based on meaning or association, clearing the table as they progress. The hybrid design merges Solitaire's strategic layer with the cognitive appeal of word games, offering both challenge and variety.
From an advertising perspective, the game began active paid campaigns in mid-September. While its overall ad scale remained moderate, the number of active ad creatives grew steadily. After excluding ad library data, AppLovin was identified as its main traffic source.
Regionally, campaigns focused primarily on Tier-1 English-speaking markets—notably the United States, which contributed 61.56% of total downloads.
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Most creatives highlighted actual in-game footage, clearly demonstrating the “Solitaire + Word” gameplay loop.
The UA team also leveraged video + playable creative combinations, allowing users to experience the core gameplay directly within the playable ad—an approach that significantly boosted engagement and conversion performance.
These findings summarize Insightrackr's insights on global mobile game downloads, revenues, and advertising performance in September 2025.
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