Cell video games final led in-app buy (IAP) income in 2016, having since been outperformed by non-gaming platforms reminiscent of TikTok and AI chatbots.
That’s in accordance with a new AppMagic report analysing knowledge from the previous decade to mark its tenth anniversary.
TiMi Studio Group’s Honor of Kings and Garena’s Free Fireplace led cell gaming charts from 2016 to 2026.
Nevertheless, ChatGPT was probably the most downloaded app globally in 2025, and TikTok has been the top-grossing app every year since 2020.
Honor of Kings has led IAP income since its 2017 debut, incomes $830 million that 12 months and surpassing $1.1 billion in 2026. The MOBA ranked first in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2026.
Free Fireplace dominated the downloads chart, debuting in 2019 with 272 million installs. It added 225 million downloads in 2021, 269 million in 2024, and 221 million in 2026.
AppMagic famous that Free Fireplace generated no income at launch however has since earned $3.3 billion.
The report additionally highlighted contrasts, reminiscent of Amongst Us reaching 930 million downloads however producing solely $52 million, whereas Umamusume earned $1.6 billion from 19 million downloads.
There are solely a handful of top-grossing video games that proceed to develop in income.
Micro Enjoyable’s Gossip Harbor: Merge & Story noticed income improve 95% year-on-year from January to October this 12 months, alongside Century Video games’ Kingshot (126%) and Honor of Kings (5%).