Hey, hope you’re all doing well, pals. As usual, sharing a weekly update with new reports and interesting articles to my taste.

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Reports of the week:

1. AppMagic: Top Mobile Games by Revenue and Downloads in April 2026

2. Games and Numbers (April 22 - May 5, 2026)

3. Dataspelsbranschen: Swedish Gaming Industry in 2025

4. Meridian Play & OEG: Vietnamese Gaming Market in 2025

AppMagic: Top Mobile Games by Revenue and Downloads in April 2026

AppMagic reports revenue net of store fees and taxes. Android revenue from Chinese stores is not included.

Revenue

• Honor of Kings topped the chart again, earning just over $138 million in April. As usual, 98% of revenue came from Chinese iOS.

• Gossip Harbor pulled back slightly after March’s record numbers to $93.1 million.

• A strong month for Delta Force - the game earned $51.2 million in April.

• Honkai: Star Rail jumped 10 spots up the chart. April ($36.8 million) was its best month since November 2025.

• Quietly, Township became the top-grossing title in Playrix’s portfolio. The game earned $39.8 million in April, with Gardenscapes at $36 million. Township’s revenue chart is impressive, showing a decade of steady growth.

Downloads

• The new trend of April: arrow puzzle games. Arrows: Puzzle Escape from Miniclip got 20.9 million installs (#3 overall), while Arrows GO! hit 16.1 million.

• Block Blast! continues to lead downloads charts, with 23.8 million installs in April.

• Royal Kingdom saw a significant jump in downloads, reaching 12 million installs in April.

Source

Games and Numbers (April 22 - May 5, 2026)

PC/Console

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 by Sandfall Interactive has sold over 8 million copies one year after launch. The game is in Game Pass, so the total audience is larger.

• Vampire Crawlers from poncle and Nosebleed Interactive was bought by over 1 million people in a week. The game received an 83 on Metacritic and 96% positive reviews on Steam.

• Cartel Pilots Wanted from OldYacht and Polden Publishing accumulated 200,000 Steam wishlists in three days after its announcement, per Polden Publishing head Kirill Oreshkin. The game collected over 85,000 wishlists in its first 24 hours, more than Quarantine Zone: The Last Check at its peak.

• Palia by Singularity 6 has reached 10 million players. The game is free to play.

Mobile

• Ludus from Top App Games has reached 10 million installs. In spring 2025 the game was earning around $3 million per month. Key markets: US, South Korea, Germany, Japan, and the UK.

Platforms

• Microsoft recorded a record number of monthly active Xbox users in Q3 FY2026, while gaming revenue fell 7% YoY (-$380 million). DAU is now the primary metric for the entire Xbox business.

Transmedia

• Super Mario Galaxy Movie has grossed $755 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 2026. The combined box office of Nintendo’s film franchise has now exceeded $2 billion across two films. The movie holds just 43% on Rotten Tomatoes, though Miyamoto described the criticism as “completely baffling.”

Dataspelsbranschen: Swedish Gaming Industry in 2025

The report is based on annual report data from public registers of Swedish companies. King’s figures are from 2023, as the company changed its fiscal year. The report covers 1,101 companies.

Exchange rates used (2024): 1 EUR = 11.43217 SEK, 1 USD = 10.56137 SEK.

Revenue and Financial Results

• Combined revenue of Swedish gaming companies reached SEK 36.783 billion ($3.483 billion) in 2024 (+6.4% versus 2023). Twenty years ago, the industry was worth SEK 540 million ($51 million).

• Global revenue, including foreign subsidiaries, totaled SEK 72.797 billion ($6.9 billion), down significantly from last year, primarily due to structural changes at the Embracer Group.

• Ten companies crossed the SEK 1 billion ($94.7 million) revenue threshold, and 49 crossed SEK 100 million ($9.5 million). The latter group grew by 6 companies compared to 2023.

Largest Swedish Gaming Companies

• The largest companies by revenue: King (€665 million, 2023 data), Mojang (€309 million), and Paradox Interactive (€194 million).

• By headcount: Ubisoft Entertainment (735 employees), EA DICE (730), and King (714). These figures predate the layoffs that affected these and other companies, so the current numbers are likely lower.

Swedish Gaming Companies

• As of the end of 2024, 1,101 gaming companies were registered in Sweden (+9% YoY). During the year, 105 new companies were founded, 21 went bankrupt or were dissolved, and around 70 changed focus or went through M&A activity. In the first half of 2025, another 50 companies were registered, and 21 filed for bankruptcy.

• In 2024, 89% of companies had fewer than 10 employees. Together they generated over SEK 6 billion ($568 million) in revenue.

• 46% of companies have no employees at all (244 companies). Those are individual entrepreneurs, consultants, or holding structures. Many freelancers in Sweden operate through their own companies.

• 8% of companies have between 10 and 50 employees. These studios generated SEK 6.2 billion ($587 million) in revenue and employ over 1,800 people.

• At the time of publication, 23 companies had between 50 and 249 employees, generating SEK 11 billion ($1.042 billion) in revenue across 2,600 staff.

• The largest companies, with 250+ employees, earned over SEK 13 billion ($1.231 billion) and employ more than 3,500 people.

• Average revenue per employee across all size groups holds steady in the SEK 3-4 million ($284,000-$379,000) range per year.

• The majority of companies and employees are concentrated in the Stockholm, Skåne, and Västra Götaland regions.

Swedish Gaming Companies Abroad

• As of autumn 2025, 181 Swedish companies had an international presence, down from 218 in 2024.

• The largest international presences belong to Embracer Group (6,300 employees outside Sweden), King (undisclosed), Stillfront Group (1,186 employees outside Sweden), and MTG (993 employees outside Sweden).

• Swedish companies’ foreign subsidiaries employ around 11,140 people across offices in 50 countries.

Employees

• Total gaming industry employment in Sweden reached 9,130 people in 2024 (+0.5% YoY).

• 2,150 women worked in Sweden’s gaming industry in 2024, accounting for 23.5% of the total workforce.

• By October 2025, around 500 people had been laid off. Some have already found new positions (at least 230 such cases are known), so it remains to be seen how this will affect the overall headcount.

• As of April 2025, around 400 artists and designers (SSYK code 2173) and around 145 developers (SSYK code 2513) were registered as unemployed. Nearly 100 of those had been searching for work for more than a year.

• The share of women in these roles within the gaming industry grew to 23.8% in 2023, up from 22.9% in 2022. The share of female artists and designers increased, while the share of female developers declined.

Gaming Companies on Swedish Stock Exchanges

• There are 23 gaming companies listed on Swedish exchanges.

• Combined revenue of publicly listed gaming companies reached SEK 42.6 billion ($4.034 billion) in 2024. No new IPOs took place during the reporting period.

• Public companies closed 19 investment deals in 2024, and another 13 in the first half of 2025.

• Key deals in 2025 included the Embracer Group restructuring: the holding sold Gearbox Entertainment (Borderlands) to Take-Two Interactive; sold parts of Saber Interactive to Beacon Interactive; sold Shiver Entertainment to Nintendo; sold Easybrain to Swiss-based Miniclip; and spun out Asmodee Group. In 2025, Thunderful Group came under Atari Group control, and MTG acquired Israeli studio Plarium.

• The EIF (European Investment Fund) invested approximately SEK 250 million (~$24 million) in Swedish fund Behold Ventures. Following the fundraise, the fund will manage SEK 550 million ($52 million), making it the largest EIF investment in a gaming fund.

Swedish Gaming Industry Highlights

• Minecraft, R.E.P.O., and PEAK were the most-watched games from Swedish developers in January-October 2025.

• Battlefield 6, Split Fiction, and Helldivers 2 were the best-selling titles over the past 12 months at the time of the report’s publication.

Source

Meridian Play & OEG: Vietnamese Gaming Market in 2025

• OEG and Meridian Play estimate the market at $825 million in 2025, up 9.16% year over year.

• The country has around 54 million gamers, predominantly mobile.

• In 2025, Vietnamese mobile developers generated 4.9 billion downloads, the second-highest worldwide after China.

• Payment methods in Vietnam are diverse. E-wallets account for 31% of transactions, cards 27%, and bank transfers 21%.

• Among card payments, Visa and Mastercard together account for only 13%. Vietnam operates its own domestic payment system called NAPAS.

• Key publishers in the local market: VNG Games, Funtap, VTC, Garena, Gamota, and OEG.

• Vietnam has 79.8 million internet users, with internet penetration at 78.8% (+0.3% YoY). There is still room to grow.

• MMORPG, team battle, and 4X strategy were the top-grossing genres in Vietnam in 2025.

• Launching and publishing games in Vietnam requires a local license. Beyond the paperwork, developers must implement user verification, set playtime limits for users under 18, host servers in-country, and localize content.

• Four license types exist, from G1 to G4, depending on the type of project (for example, G1 covers synchronous multiplayer games; G4 covers single-player games with no multiplayer). All licenses are issued exclusively to Vietnamese legal entities.

Source

• OEG and Meridian Play estimate the market at $825 million in 2025, up 9.16% year over year.

• The country has around 54 million gamers, predominantly mobile.

• In 2025, Vietnamese mobile developers generated 4.9 billion downloads, the second-highest worldwide after China.

• Payment methods in Vietnam are diverse. E-wallets account for 31% of transactions, cards 27%, and bank transfers 21%.

• Among card payments, Visa and Mastercard together account for only 13%. Vietnam operates its own domestic payment system called NAPAS.

• Key publishers in the local market: VNG Games, Funtap, VTC, Garena, Gamota, and OEG.

• Vietnam has 79.8 million internet users, with internet penetration at 78.8% (+0.3% YoY). There is still room to grow.

• MMORPG, team battle, and 4X strategy were the top-grossing genres in Vietnam in 2025.

• Launching and publishing games in Vietnam requires a local license. Beyond the paperwork, developers must implement user verification, set playtime limits for users under 18, host servers in-country, and localize content.

• Four license types exist, from G1 to G4, depending on the type of project (for example, G1 covers synchronous multiplayer games; G4 covers single-player games with no multiplayer). All licenses are issued exclusively to Vietnamese legal entities.

Source

The report is based on annual report data from public registers of Swedish companies. King’s figures are from 2023, as the company changed its fiscal year. The report covers 1,101 companies.

Exchange rates used (2024): 1 EUR = 11.43217 SEK, 1 USD = 10.56137 SEK.

Revenue and Financial Results

• Combined revenue of Swedish gaming companies reached SEK 36.783 billion ($3.483 billion) in 2024 (+6.4% versus 2023). Twenty years ago, the industry was worth SEK 540 million ($51 million).

• Global revenue, including foreign subsidiaries, totaled SEK 72.797 billion ($6.9 billion), down significantly from last year, primarily due to structural changes at the Embracer Group.

• Ten companies crossed the SEK 1 billion ($94.7 million) revenue threshold, and 49 crossed SEK 100 million ($9.5 million). The latter group grew by 6 companies compared to 2023.

Largest Swedish Gaming Companies

• The largest companies by revenue: King (€665 million, 2023 data), Mojang (€309 million), and Paradox Interactive (€194 million).

• By headcount: Ubisoft Entertainment (735 employees), EA DICE (730), and King (714). These figures predate the layoffs that affected these and other companies, so the current numbers are likely lower.

Swedish Gaming Companies

• As of the end of 2024, 1,101 gaming companies were registered in Sweden (+9% YoY). During the year, 105 new companies were founded, 21 went bankrupt or were dissolved, and around 70 changed focus or went through M&A activity. In the first half of 2025, another 50 companies were registered, and 21 filed for bankruptcy.

• In 2024, 89% of companies had fewer than 10 employees. Together they generated over SEK 6 billion ($568 million) in revenue.

• 46% of companies have no employees at all (244 companies). Those are individual entrepreneurs, consultants, or holding structures. Many freelancers in Sweden operate through their own companies.

• 8% of companies have between 10 and 50 employees. These studios generated SEK 6.2 billion ($587 million) in revenue and employ over 1,800 people.

• At the time of publication, 23 companies had between 50 and 249 employees, generating SEK 11 billion ($1.042 billion) in revenue across 2,600 staff.

• The largest companies, with 250+ employees, earned over SEK 13 billion ($1.231 billion) and employ more than 3,500 people.

• Average revenue per employee across all size groups holds steady in the SEK 3-4 million ($284,000-$379,000) range per year.

• The majority of companies and employees are concentrated in the Stockholm, Skåne, and Västra Götaland regions.

Swedish Gaming Companies Abroad

• As of autumn 2025, 181 Swedish companies had an international presence, down from 218 in 2024.

• The largest international presences belong to Embracer Group (6,300 employees outside Sweden), King (undisclosed), Stillfront Group (1,186 employees outside Sweden), and MTG (993 employees outside Sweden).

• Swedish companies’ foreign subsidiaries employ around 11,140 people across offices in 50 countries.

Employees

• Total gaming industry employment in Sweden reached 9,130 people in 2024 (+0.5% YoY).

• 2,150 women worked in Sweden’s gaming industry in 2024, accounting for 23.5% of the total workforce.

• By October 2025, around 500 people had been laid off. Some have already found new positions (at least 230 such cases are known), so it remains to be seen how this will affect the overall headcount.

• As of April 2025, around 400 artists and designers (SSYK code 2173) and around 145 developers (SSYK code 2513) were registered as unemployed. Nearly 100 of those had been searching for work for more than a year.

• The share of women in these roles within the gaming industry grew to 23.8% in 2023, up from 22.9% in 2022. The share of female artists and designers increased, while the share of female developers declined.

Gaming Companies on Swedish Stock Exchanges

• There are 23 gaming companies listed on Swedish exchanges.

• Combined revenue of publicly listed gaming companies reached SEK 42.6 billion ($4.034 billion) in 2024. No new IPOs took place during the reporting period.

• Public companies closed 19 investment deals in 2024, and another 13 in the first half of 2025.

• Key deals in 2025 included the Embracer Group restructuring: the holding sold Gearbox Entertainment (Borderlands) to Take-Two Interactive; sold parts of Saber Interactive to Beacon Interactive; sold Shiver Entertainment to Nintendo; sold Easybrain to Swiss-based Miniclip; and spun out Asmodee Group. In 2025, Thunderful Group came under Atari Group control, and MTG acquired Israeli studio Plarium.

• The EIF (European Investment Fund) invested approximately SEK 250 million (~$24 million) in Swedish fund Behold Ventures. Following the fundraise, the fund will manage SEK 550 million ($52 million), making it the largest EIF investment in a gaming fund.

Swedish Gaming Industry Highlights

• Minecraft, R.E.P.O., and PEAK were the most-watched games from Swedish developers in January-October 2025.

• Battlefield 6, Split Fiction, and Helldivers 2 were the best-selling titles over the past 12 months at the time of the report’s publication.

Source

PC/Console

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 by Sandfall Interactive has sold over 8 million copies one year after launch. The game is in Game Pass, so the total audience is larger.

• Vampire Crawlers from poncle and Nosebleed Interactive was bought by over 1 million people in a week. The game received an 83 on Metacritic and 96% positive reviews on Steam.

• Cartel Pilots Wanted from OldYacht and Polden Publishing accumulated 200,000 Steam wishlists in three days after its announcement, per Polden Publishing head Kirill Oreshkin. The game collected over 85,000 wishlists in its first 24 hours, more than Quarantine Zone: The Last Check at its peak.

• Palia by Singularity 6 has reached 10 million players. The game is free to play.

Mobile

• Ludus from Top App Games has reached 10 million installs. In spring 2025 the game was earning around $3 million per month. Key markets: US, South Korea, Germany, Japan, and the UK.

Platforms

• Microsoft recorded a record number of monthly active Xbox users in Q3 FY2026, while gaming revenue fell 7% YoY (-$380 million). DAU is now the primary metric for the entire Xbox business.

Transmedia

• Super Mario Galaxy Movie has grossed $755 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 2026. The combined box office of Nintendo’s film franchise has now exceeded $2 billion across two films. The movie holds just 43% on Rotten Tomatoes, though Miyamoto described the criticism as “completely baffling.”

AppMagic reports revenue net of store fees and taxes. Android revenue from Chinese stores is not included.

Revenue

• Honor of Kings topped the chart again, earning just over $138 million in April. As usual, 98% of revenue came from Chinese iOS.

• Gossip Harbor pulled back slightly after March’s record numbers to $93.1 million.

• A strong month for Delta Force - the game earned $51.2 million in April.

• Honkai: Star Rail jumped 10 spots up the chart. April ($36.8 million) was its best month since November 2025.

• Quietly, Township became the top-grossing title in Playrix’s portfolio. The game earned $39.8 million in April, with Gardenscapes at $36 million. Township’s revenue chart is impressive, showing a decade of steady growth.

Downloads

• The new trend of April: arrow puzzle games. Arrows: Puzzle Escape from Miniclip got 20.9 million installs (#3 overall), while Arrows GO! hit 16.1 million.

• Block Blast! continues to lead downloads charts, with 23.8 million installs in April.

• Royal Kingdom saw a significant jump in downloads, reaching 12 million installs in April.

Source

Hey guys! There are too many games, and too little time to play. In pauses between being a good dad in Pragmata, I have a couple of interesting things for you.

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Reports of the week:

1. Circana: The U.S. Gaming Market in March’26

2. BITKRAFT Ventures & Redseer: India’s Gaming Market in 2025

3. Hushcrasher: Games budgets & did games become more expensive to make?

Circana: The U.S. Gaming Market in March’26

Market

• In March 2026, Americans spent $5.3 billion on games, up 12% year-over-year.

• First quarter spending grew 5% YoY to $14.6 billion.

• Game content sales grew 8% YoY to $4.6 billion.

• Console content revenue grew 22%, with digital B2P sales up 40%.

• PC, cloud, and non-console VR revenue grew 28%. Subscriptions grew 20%.

• Hardware sales jumped 69% YoY to $500 million, driven by Nintendo Switch 2. PS5 sales also grew, up 3% YoY.

• Nintendo Switch 2 was the best-selling platform in both March and Q1, by both units and revenue. PlayStation 5 ranked second across both measures and time periods.

• Through its first 10 months on the market, Nintendo Switch 2 unit sales are running 12% ahead of the original Switch over the same period. It remains the second fastest-selling hardware platform in US tracked history (since 1995).

• Accessories spending grew 5% YoY to $252 million. Cases and organizers jumped 180% YoY.

• Digital at retail (gift cards and receipt codes) grew 30% YoY to $306 million in March 2026. Roblox was up 65% YoY and led all manufacturers in the segment.

Game Sales

• MLB: The Show 26 (excluding digital sales on Xbox and Nintendo) was the best-selling game of March in the US. Other strong new releases: WWE 2K26 (#3), Marathon (#4), Pokemon: Pokopia (#5, physical only), Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection (#7), and Crimson Desert (#15, excluding digital sales).

• Through the first three months of 2026, Resident Evil: Requiem leads by revenue, followed by MLB: The Show 26 and WWE 2K26.

• MLB The Show 26 posted the second-best launch in franchise history, trailing only 2021.

• Resident Evil: Requiem has already entered the top 5 best-selling games in the franchise’s history after just two months on sale, trailing only Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil 4 (2023), Resident Evil: Village, and the original Resident Evil 4.

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach returned to the top 20 following its PC release. The PC version accounted for 85% of the game’s sales in March.

• Top 5 mobile games by revenue: MONOPOLY GO!, Last War: Survival, Royal Match, Candy Crush Saga, Gossip Harbor.

• According to Sensor Tower, MONOPOLY GO! revenue has declined more than 10% QoQ for the second consecutive quarter, yet the title remains firmly in first place. Gossip Harbor, by contrast, has delivered three consecutive quarters of revenue growth.

Platform Charts

• PlayStation and Xbox revenue charts look very similar, with WWE 2K26 and Resident Evil: Requiem leading both. Marathon ranks higher on Xbox than on PlayStation.

• Nintendo charts are dominated by Pokemon: Pokopia. Among other new releases, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is putting up solid numbers.

• Marathon leads PC sales in March. The game found a receptive audience on Steam, though a month in, it’s fair to say the title is struggling to keep it in the game.

Source

BITKRAFT Ventures & Redseer: India’s Gaming Market in 2025

It’s the report I’ve missed, and it’s interesting, and it highlights data that is not so easy to find elsewhere.

Exchange rate used: $1 = 85 Indian rupees.

India economy

• India’s real GDP growth rate exceeds the average for both emerging and developed economies (2018-2025 data).

• Private consumption accounts for 61% of GDP, on par with the UK and above China (40%), Saudi Arabia (45%), and the UAE (46%).

• The share of discretionary spending in monthly household budgets has grown by 5 percentage points over the past decade: from 24% to 29% in urban areas, and from 22% to 28% in rural areas.

• India’s median population age is 29 (compared to 40 in China and the UK, and 38 in the US). 51% of India’s population is under 30.

• The internet audience reached 835 million in 2025 and is projected to hit 1.12 billion by 2030. Smartphone ownership stands at around 700 million.

• India ranks 3rd globally in average daily mobile usage at 5 hours per day, behind only Indonesia (6.3 hours) and Brazil (5.3 hours).

• Mobile internet and smartphone costs in India are among the lowest in the world.

India’s Entertainment Market

• India’s digital entertainment market is valued at $9.3 billion in 2025.

• Games and interactive entertainment account for a quarter of that total ($2.4 billion), growing 1.5x faster than the broader market.

• Gaming revenue in India is projected to reach $7.8 billion by 2030 (26% CAGR).

Gaming Audience

• Of approximately 700 million smartphone owners, around 520 million play at least one game.

• Paying players number 140 million, roughly 20% of the total gamer population in 2024.

• By 2030, the player base is expected to grow to 700 million, with 230 million paying players.

• 51% of gamers are under 30. The share of women has grown from 23% in 2022 to 26% in 2025.

• 96% of players game on mobile, 20% on PC, 12% on console.

• By downloads, simulators lead (22%), followed by arcade titles (19%) and puzzles (17%).

India’s Gaming Market

• India’s gaming market grew from $1.1 billion in 2023 to $1.9 billion in 2025 (31% CAGR).

• By 2030, the market is projected to reach $4.4 billion (18% CAGR).

• Mobile games account for 78% of the market, PC 15%, and consoles 7%. PC’s share is gradually growing, driven by the availability of gaming laptops and widespread internet access.

• Looking at mobile genres, hypercasual, hybrid casual, and casual titles account for 56% of all IAP revenue.

• More complex titles account for 44%. By 2030, this is expected to shift: the midcore segment is projected to grow while casual shrinks.

• Battle Royale leads by revenue with a dominant 47% share in 2025.

Monetization in the Indian Market

• ARPPU grew 5.5x over five years, from $3 in 2020 to $18 in 2025. The figure is projected to grow 9x by 2030. There is an error in the chart below.

• The split between advertising and IAP is nearly even. In 2025, advertising accounted for 57% of revenue and IAP for 43%.

• By 2030, IAP is projected to grow to 66% of revenue (28% CAGR), while advertising’s share is expected to fall to 33% (9% CAGR).

• Among ad formats, native and rewarded ads dominate in midcore and core games. Among IAP types, season passes are the fastest-growing.

Esports Market in India

• The esports market reached $38 million in 2025. The numbers are modest, but growth has been significant (a 42% CAGR over the past couple of years).

• By 2030, the market is projected to grow to $120 million (26% CAGR).

Source

Hushcrasher: Games budgets & did games become more expensive to make?

• According to Hushcrasher estimates, the combined development budget for all Steam games in 2025 was $27 billion. In 2019, the figure was $10 billion, which was 2.7x lower (or 2.2x lower if we don’t account for inflation).

• For context, films and TV shows combined spent around $40 billion in 2025. That means PC games alone accounted for 67% of the entire film and TV production budget.

• Per Hushcrasher, development costs have genuinely increased in recent years, not only due to inflation.

• The larger the project, the steeper the budget growth. AAA game costs have grown 224% since 2015. AA games have grown 250%.

• That said, some genres (or specific categories) have seen cost growth well above the market average. VR projects in particular became significantly more expensive (hello, metaverse era). Adventure games, F2P titles, and action games also grew above the average.

• There are also genres where development has actually gotten cheaper. Point & click, for example. Though even if it’s a niche genre with small audiences and small teams, it’s worth noting.

• Smaller projects released with a publisher consistently cost around twice as much as self-published titles of the same size.

• For larger projects, the presence of a publisher has no meaningful impact on development budget. At the AAA level, the developer is usually already a major publisher.

Source

• According to Hushcrasher estimates, the combined development budget for all Steam games in 2025 was $27 billion. In 2019, the figure was $10 billion, which was 2.7x lower (or 2.2x lower if we don’t account for inflation).

• For context, films and TV shows combined spent around $40 billion in 2025. That means PC games alone accounted for 67% of the entire film and TV production budget.

• Per Hushcrasher, development costs have genuinely increased in recent years, not only due to inflation.

• The larger the project, the steeper the budget growth. AAA game costs have grown 224% since 2015. AA games have grown 250%.

• That said, some genres (or specific categories) have seen cost growth well above the market average. VR projects in particular became significantly more expensive (hello, metaverse era). Adventure games, F2P titles, and action games also grew above the average.

• There are also genres where development has actually gotten cheaper. Point & click, for example. Though even if it’s a niche genre with small audiences and small teams, it’s worth noting.

• Smaller projects released with a publisher consistently cost around twice as much as self-published titles of the same size.

• For larger projects, the presence of a publisher has no meaningful impact on development budget. At the AAA level, the developer is usually already a major publisher.

Source

It’s the report I’ve missed, and it’s interesting, and it highlights data that is not so easy to find elsewhere.

Exchange rate used: $1 = 85 Indian rupees.

India economy

• India’s real GDP growth rate exceeds the average for both emerging and developed economies (2018-2025 data).

• Private consumption accounts for 61% of GDP, on par with the UK and above China (40%), Saudi Arabia (45%), and the UAE (46%).

• The share of discretionary spending in monthly household budgets has grown by 5 percentage points over the past decade: from 24% to 29% in urban areas, and from 22% to 28% in rural areas.

• India’s median population age is 29 (compared to 40 in China and the UK, and 38 in the US). 51% of India’s population is under 30.

• The internet audience reached 835 million in 2025 and is projected to hit 1.12 billion by 2030. Smartphone ownership stands at around 700 million.

• India ranks 3rd globally in average daily mobile usage at 5 hours per day, behind only Indonesia (6.3 hours) and Brazil (5.3 hours).

• Mobile internet and smartphone costs in India are among the lowest in the world.

India’s Entertainment Market

• India’s digital entertainment market is valued at $9.3 billion in 2025.

• Games and interactive entertainment account for a quarter of that total ($2.4 billion), growing 1.5x faster than the broader market.

• Gaming revenue in India is projected to reach $7.8 billion by 2030 (26% CAGR).

Gaming Audience

• Of approximately 700 million smartphone owners, around 520 million play at least one game.

• Paying players number 140 million, roughly 20% of the total gamer population in 2024.

• By 2030, the player base is expected to grow to 700 million, with 230 million paying players.

• 51% of gamers are under 30. The share of women has grown from 23% in 2022 to 26% in 2025.

• 96% of players game on mobile, 20% on PC, 12% on console.

• By downloads, simulators lead (22%), followed by arcade titles (19%) and puzzles (17%).

India’s Gaming Market

• India’s gaming market grew from $1.1 billion in 2023 to $1.9 billion in 2025 (31% CAGR).

• By 2030, the market is projected to reach $4.4 billion (18% CAGR).

• Mobile games account for 78% of the market, PC 15%, and consoles 7%. PC’s share is gradually growing, driven by the availability of gaming laptops and widespread internet access.

• Looking at mobile genres, hypercasual, hybrid casual, and casual titles account for 56% of all IAP revenue.

• More complex titles account for 44%. By 2030, this is expected to shift: the midcore segment is projected to grow while casual shrinks.

• Battle Royale leads by revenue with a dominant 47% share in 2025.

Monetization in the Indian Market

• ARPPU grew 5.5x over five years, from $3 in 2020 to $18 in 2025. The figure is projected to grow 9x by 2030. There is an error in the chart below.

• The split between advertising and IAP is nearly even. In 2025, advertising accounted for 57% of revenue and IAP for 43%.

• By 2030, IAP is projected to grow to 66% of revenue (28% CAGR), while advertising’s share is expected to fall to 33% (9% CAGR).

• Among ad formats, native and rewarded ads dominate in midcore and core games. Among IAP types, season passes are the fastest-growing.

Esports Market in India

• The esports market reached $38 million in 2025. The numbers are modest, but growth has been significant (a 42% CAGR over the past couple of years).

• By 2030, the market is projected to grow to $120 million (26% CAGR).

Source

Market

• In March 2026, Americans spent $5.3 billion on games, up 12% year-over-year.

• First quarter spending grew 5% YoY to $14.6 billion.

• Game content sales grew 8% YoY to $4.6 billion.

• Console content revenue grew 22%, with digital B2P sales up 40%.

• PC, cloud, and non-console VR revenue grew 28%. Subscriptions grew 20%.

• Hardware sales jumped 69% YoY to $500 million, driven by Nintendo Switch 2. PS5 sales also grew, up 3% YoY.

• Nintendo Switch 2 was the best-selling platform in both March and Q1, by both units and revenue. PlayStation 5 ranked second across both measures and time periods.

• Through its first 10 months on the market, Nintendo Switch 2 unit sales are running 12% ahead of the original Switch over the same period. It remains the second fastest-selling hardware platform in US tracked history (since 1995).

• Accessories spending grew 5% YoY to $252 million. Cases and organizers jumped 180% YoY.

• Digital at retail (gift cards and receipt codes) grew 30% YoY to $306 million in March 2026. Roblox was up 65% YoY and led all manufacturers in the segment.

Game Sales

• MLB: The Show 26 (excluding digital sales on Xbox and Nintendo) was the best-selling game of March in the US. Other strong new releases: WWE 2K26 (#3), Marathon (#4), Pokemon: Pokopia (#5, physical only), Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection (#7), and Crimson Desert (#15, excluding digital sales).

• Through the first three months of 2026, Resident Evil: Requiem leads by revenue, followed by MLB: The Show 26 and WWE 2K26.

• MLB The Show 26 posted the second-best launch in franchise history, trailing only 2021.

• Resident Evil: Requiem has already entered the top 5 best-selling games in the franchise’s history after just two months on sale, trailing only Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil 4 (2023), Resident Evil: Village, and the original Resident Evil 4.

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach returned to the top 20 following its PC release. The PC version accounted for 85% of the game’s sales in March.

• Top 5 mobile games by revenue: MONOPOLY GO!, Last War: Survival, Royal Match, Candy Crush Saga, Gossip Harbor.

• According to Sensor Tower, MONOPOLY GO! revenue has declined more than 10% QoQ for the second consecutive quarter, yet the title remains firmly in first place. Gossip Harbor, by contrast, has delivered three consecutive quarters of revenue growth.

Platform Charts

• PlayStation and Xbox revenue charts look very similar, with WWE 2K26 and Resident Evil: Requiem leading both. Marathon ranks higher on Xbox than on PlayStation.

• Nintendo charts are dominated by Pokemon: Pokopia. Among other new releases, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is putting up solid numbers.

• Marathon leads PC sales in March. The game found a receptive audience on Steam, though a month in, it’s fair to say the title is struggling to keep it in the game.

Source

Hey! MOUSE: P.I. For Hire released, and it seems to be an amazing game. For me the most interesting is how accurately devs worked with the IP, and managed to keep the style of old Disney cartoons without any violations. For those who don’t know, classic Mickey Mouse entered the public domain on 1 January, 2024.

Read more

Reports of the week:

1. game: German Gaming Market in 2025

2. Games and Numbers (April 7 - April 21, 2026)

3. AppMagic: Friendslop Games in 2025 and their Retention

game: German Gaming Market in 2025

The German gaming association used data from YouGov Shopper (a sample of 25,000 people), Nielsen IQ, and Sensor Tower.

Gaming Market in Germany

• Total revenue of the German gaming market grew 4% in 2025 to €9.382 billion. The market returned to growth after a decline in 2024.

• Revenue from subscription and cloud services (PlayStation Plus, Xbox Game Pass, and others) reached €1.031 billion, crossing the €1 billion mark for the first time. The segment has more than doubled over six years, up from €461 million in 2019.

Hardware Sales

• Gaming hardware sales in Germany grew 12% YoY to €3.403 billion.

• Consoles grew 26% to €1.021 billion, driven largely by the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2. Console sales had fallen 26% in 2024.

• Gaming PCs (desktops, laptops, and handheld devices) grew 7% to €651 million. Key sales drivers included the ROG Xbox Ally.

• PC gaming accessories (peripherals, monitors, GPUs, VR headsets) grew 13% to €1.371 billion. The segment is slowly recovering from a prolonged decline that began after the 2020-2021 pandemic growth.

• Console accessories, on the other hand, fell 10% to €360 million.

Game Sales

• Game sales fell 1% YoY in 2025 to €4.948 billion.

• Unit sales of games (physical and digital combined) dropped 13% to €807 million.

• In-game purchases, however, grew 1% YoY to €4.141 billion, accounting for 84% of total revenue.

Source

Games and Numbers (April 7 - April 21, 2026)

PC/Console

• Hazelight Studios games have sold over 50 million copies combined: It Takes Two sold 30 million, A Way Out - 13 million, and Split Fiction - 7 million .

• Mortal Kombat 1 has sold over 8 million copies, per NetherRealm Studios. In August 2025, the studio reported 6.2M copies sold.

• Crimson Desert by Pearl Abyss has sold over 5 million copies in 27 days since launch, according to the developers. Alinea Analytics estimates roughly half of sales came from Steam.

• Pragmata by Capcom sold over 1 million copies in two days after launch. The game received an 88 on Metacritic and 96% positive reviews on Steam. Capcom noted that Pragmata was developed primarily by younger staff.

• Windrose by Kraken Express sold over 1 million copies in 6 days, with peak concurrent players exceeding 97,900. The studio is based in Uzbekistan.

• Quarantine Zone: The Last Check from Brigada Games and Devolver Digital reached over 1 million copies in three months. Devolver Digital called it one of their largest releases of 2026 so far.

• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has reached an audience of 12 million, with Saber Interactive counting all players, including Game Pass and PlayStation Plus subscribers. The company reported 7 million players in June 2025.

• The total audience of 11 bit studios’ Frostpunk series has exceeded 11 million, including Game Pass subscribers.

• According to Forbes, Marathon by Bungie cost over $200 million to develop, possibly as much as $250 million, not counting ongoing support and content costs. The game earned $55 million in its first three weeks, per Alinea Analytics.

• Alinea Analytics estimates Starfield sold around 140,000 copies on PS5 in its debut week.

• Graveyard Keeper 2 from Lazy Bear Games and tinyBuild accumulated 400,000 Steam wishlists in under a week after its announcement. The original Graveyard Keeper set a new peak CCU off the back of the announcement: 46,300 players.

• Totally Secure Airport from Longpines Games has crossed 400,000 wishlists and continues to add 2,000 to 4,000 new ones per day. Top countries: US (92,000), Germany (38,700), Brazil (28,500), and Russia (28,300).

• Alinea Analytics reports that Forza Horizon 6 has accumulated 511,000 pre-orders on Steam with one month to go until launch.

Mobile

• Konami reports that eFootball has crossed 1 billion downloads. The F2P, a successor to the PES series, launched in 2021.

• War Robots from MY.GAMES and Pixonic have reached over 325 million registered players through its 12-year run. The game’s cumulative revenue exceeded $1 billion back in 2025.

AppMagic: Friendslop Games in 2025 and their Retention

AppMagic takes a broad look at the friendslop market and the trend as a whole. I won’t be covering everything here, just the retention section, which I found interesting.

State of the Friendslop Market

• In 2025, 4 of the 10 best-selling games on Steam by copies sold were friendslop titles: R.E.P.O. (18.5 million copies), Peak (15.4 million), Schedule I (9.1 million), and RV There Yet? (5.7 million).

• AppMagic notes that these games typically cost between $5 and $20. But nobody plays them solo, so the effective spend at least doubles.

Retention in Friendslop Games

• On average, D30 Retention for friendslop titles sits around 3%. That’s a low number by Steam standards. Some titles run higher (R.E.P.O.), some considerably lower (RV There Yet?).

• Ball x Pit, for example, comes in at 4.7% D30, about 1.5x the average. Different genres, but more comparisons are coming.

• Dead by Daylight’s D30 is several times higher at 11.3%, and even Phasmophobia, which AppMagic describes as a forerunner to the friendslop genre, sits at 5.3%.

• Content Warning, one of the earliest friendslop titles (released April 2024), lands right at that 3% mark.

Source

AppMagic takes a broad look at the friendslop market and the trend as a whole. I won’t be covering everything here, just the retention section, which I found interesting.

State of the Friendslop Market

• In 2025, 4 of the 10 best-selling games on Steam by copies sold were friendslop titles: R.E.P.O. (18.5 million copies), Peak (15.4 million), Schedule I (9.1 million), and RV There Yet? (5.7 million).

• AppMagic notes that these games typically cost between $5 and $20. But nobody plays them solo, so the effective spend at least doubles.

Retention in Friendslop Games

• On average, D30 Retention for friendslop titles sits around 3%. That’s a low number by Steam standards. Some titles run higher (R.E.P.O.), some considerably lower (RV There Yet?).

• Ball x Pit, for example, comes in at 4.7% D30, about 1.5x the average. Different genres, but more comparisons are coming.

• Dead by Daylight’s D30 is several times higher at 11.3%, and even Phasmophobia, which AppMagic describes as a forerunner to the friendslop genre, sits at 5.3%.

• Content Warning, one of the earliest friendslop titles (released April 2024), lands right at that 3% mark.

Source

PC/Console

• Hazelight Studios games have sold over 50 million copies combined: It Takes Two sold 30 million, A Way Out - 13 million, and Split Fiction - 7 million .

• Mortal Kombat 1 has sold over 8 million copies, per NetherRealm Studios. In August 2025, the studio reported 6.2M copies sold.

• Crimson Desert by Pearl Abyss has sold over 5 million copies in 27 days since launch, according to the developers. Alinea Analytics estimates roughly half of sales came from Steam.

• Pragmata by Capcom sold over 1 million copies in two days after launch. The game received an 88 on Metacritic and 96% positive reviews on Steam. Capcom noted that Pragmata was developed primarily by younger staff.

• Windrose by Kraken Express sold over 1 million copies in 6 days, with peak concurrent players exceeding 97,900. The studio is based in Uzbekistan.

• Quarantine Zone: The Last Check from Brigada Games and Devolver Digital reached over 1 million copies in three months. Devolver Digital called it one of their largest releases of 2026 so far.

• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has reached an audience of 12 million, with Saber Interactive counting all players, including Game Pass and PlayStation Plus subscribers. The company reported 7 million players in June 2025.

• The total audience of 11 bit studios’ Frostpunk series has exceeded 11 million, including Game Pass subscribers.

• According to Forbes, Marathon by Bungie cost over $200 million to develop, possibly as much as $250 million, not counting ongoing support and content costs. The game earned $55 million in its first three weeks, per Alinea Analytics.

• Alinea Analytics estimates Starfield sold around 140,000 copies on PS5 in its debut week.

• Graveyard Keeper 2 from Lazy Bear Games and tinyBuild accumulated 400,000 Steam wishlists in under a week after its announcement. The original Graveyard Keeper set a new peak CCU off the back of the announcement: 46,300 players.

• Totally Secure Airport from Longpines Games has crossed 400,000 wishlists and continues to add 2,000 to 4,000 new ones per day. Top countries: US (92,000), Germany (38,700), Brazil (28,500), and Russia (28,300).

• Alinea Analytics reports that Forza Horizon 6 has accumulated 511,000 pre-orders on Steam with one month to go until launch.

Mobile

• Konami reports that eFootball has crossed 1 billion downloads. The F2P, a successor to the PES series, launched in 2021.

• War Robots from MY.GAMES and Pixonic have reached over 325 million registered players through its 12-year run. The game’s cumulative revenue exceeded $1 billion back in 2025.

The German gaming association used data from YouGov Shopper (a sample of 25,000 people), Nielsen IQ, and Sensor Tower.

Gaming Market in Germany

• Total revenue of the German gaming market grew 4% in 2025 to €9.382 billion. The market returned to growth after a decline in 2024.

• Revenue from subscription and cloud services (PlayStation Plus, Xbox Game Pass, and others) reached €1.031 billion, crossing the €1 billion mark for the first time. The segment has more than doubled over six years, up from €461 million in 2019.

Hardware Sales

• Gaming hardware sales in Germany grew 12% YoY to €3.403 billion.

• Consoles grew 26% to €1.021 billion, driven largely by the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2. Console sales had fallen 26% in 2024.

• Gaming PCs (desktops, laptops, and handheld devices) grew 7% to €651 million. Key sales drivers included the ROG Xbox Ally.

• PC gaming accessories (peripherals, monitors, GPUs, VR headsets) grew 13% to €1.371 billion. The segment is slowly recovering from a prolonged decline that began after the 2020-2021 pandemic growth.

• Console accessories, on the other hand, fell 10% to €360 million.

Game Sales

• Game sales fell 1% YoY in 2025 to €4.948 billion.

• Unit sales of games (physical and digital combined) dropped 13% to €807 million.

• In-game purchases, however, grew 1% YoY to €4.141 billion, accounting for 84% of total revenue.

Source

Hey! Another week, another set of updates. Thanks for your continuous support!

Read more

Reports of the week:

1. Adjust: Gaming App Insights Report 2026

2. GameDiscoverCo: Top Games on Steam and Consoles in March 2026

3. Newzoo: Top Roblox Games in 2025

Adjust: Gaming App Insights Report 2026

Data covers the top 5,000 apps and the full Adjust dataset, aggregated and anonymized. Data collected from January 2024 to January 2026, across 23 game genres, 6 regions, and 21 countries.

Mobile gaming market

• Mobile games accounted for 55% of total gaming industry revenue in 2025. The mobile gaming audience is approximately 3 billion people, or around 80% of all players.

• IAP revenue across casual, midcore & hypercasual games grew to $81.8 billion. The segment has grown for three consecutive years on App Store and Google Play, though growth has nearly plateaued.

• Total time spent in mobile games reached 444.6 billion hours (+1% YoY).

Installs and Sessions

• Global session count grew 1% YoY. Install trends diverged by region: MENA was up 2% in installs and +7% in sessions. In LATAM, installs fall 9% with modest session growth (+0.4% YoY). In Europe, installs dropped by 7% while sessions grew 3%.

• Hypercasual games retain the largest install share at 29.1% (up from 27% in 2024). Their session share also grew, from 11% to 15%.

❗️Yes, this refers specifically to hypercasual projects. The line between hypercasual and hybrid casual games has become increasingly blurry.

• Casual and hybrid casual titles account for around 10% of installs each, with 7% and 8.5% of sessions, respectively. Some genres (puzzles, for instance) are calculated separately; puzzles have 10% of installs and 13% of all sessions.

• Action games have the largest gap between installs and sessions: 8% of installs but 17.1% of sessions.

• Strategy games led session growth in 2025, up 57% for the year. Casual games grew 37%, hypercasual 31%, simulators 18%, and card games 15%.

• By the end of 2025, slots grew at +46% YoY. Casino came second (+22% YoY), casual games third (+19% YoY).

❗️It’s not entirely clear for me what falls under the casual category, if puzzles, card games, hypercasual/hybrid casual games, simulators, and word games are all broken out separately.

• At the country level, Turkey grew sessions by 7%, France by 4%, and the DACH region by 3%.

Session Length

• Strategy games saw the strongest growth in session length, up from 31.72 to 37.51 minutes (+18%). Racing games grew 17% (to 16.33 minutes), casual and hypercasual titles grew 15% and 13% respectively.

• Action games have the highest average session length at 43.8 minutes, though it has declined slightly.

• APAC is the only region where session length declined (-4%, from 34.48 to 33.14 minutes). MENA grew 3% to 30.88 minutes, and LATAM grew 2% to 25.44 minutes.

• Day-zero session count (on install day) held steady at 1.65 in 2025, and this holds across nearly all genres. The average user plays one session on install day, making that session critical for hooking players.

• Regional differences in day-zero sessions are modest. LATAM has the lowest count (with a declining trend), Europe has the highest among major regions, though Japan is the absolute leader.

Retention

• D1 Retention across all genres was 27% in 2025. Hypercasual and hybrid casual have the highest numbers.

❗️Top games in the market regularly exceed 40-50% D1 Retention. Benchmarking against averages is somewhat misleading.

• The biggest D1 Retention improvement by genre came from family games, up 5 percentage points from 18% to 23%.

• Japan has the highest D1 Retention of any country, at around 25%.

Paid and Organic Installs

• The median paid-to-organic install ratio grew from 2.07 to 3.33 (+61% YoY), with growth recorded across all verticals and regions.

• Casino has the highest ratio at 11.05 (11 paid installs for every organic one), up 223% YoY.

❗️The numbers confirm that UA is scaling aggressively, especially in high-monetization genres.

• By region, APAC saw the largest growth in paid install share (+45% YoY, from 2.05 to 2.97). North America grew 28% YoY (from 2.76 to 3.52), Europe 26% YoY (from 2.53 to 3.18).

• Countries with the highest paid-to-organic ratios: Brazil (5.32), Turkey (4.28), India (3.81), and the US (3.53).

Marketing Metrics

• IPM (Installs Per Mille) for gaming apps edged up slightly in 2025, to 8.62 from 8.59 the year prior. Racing games have the highest IPM at 16.2. Casino saw the strongest IPM growth, up 65% to 5.13.

• IPM fell in most regions (Europe, LATAM, MENA, North America) but grew in APAC.

• CPC (Cost per Click) grew from $0.03 in 2024 to $0.04 in 2025 (+33% YoY). The sharpest increases: strategy (+133% YoY, to $0.07) and slots (+106%, to $0.35). Among countries, the US saw the strongest growth (+86% YoY, to $0.13).

• Global CPI (Cost per Install) rose to $0.56 (+30% YoY). The most expensive installs: slots ($4.47), idle RPG ($3.19), strategy ($1.03). Per Adjust, CPI fell for casino and family games.

• CPI rose nearly everywhere in 2025. Europe was up 47% YoY (from $0.36 to $0.53), LATAM up 40% (to $0.14), North America up 31% (from $1.28 to $1.68).

• The highest CPM (Cost per Mille) in 2025 was in the casino (above $12) and slots (nearly $12). Average CPM across all genres grew from $3.63 to $4.34 (+20% YoY).

• North America remains the most expensive region by a wide margin, at $15.98 CPM. LATAM and MENA both saw CPM fall 3% for the year.

Ad Networks

• The average number of ad partners per app declined from 6 to 5.3. Some genres saw partner counts grow (hypercasual, for instance), while others saw sharp declines (slots).

❗️As CPI and CPM rise, companies focus on the channels that deliver the highest LTV. Fewer experiments means fewer active channels.

ATT Opt-In

• Global ATT opt-in rate grew from 38% in Q1 2025 to 39% in Q1 2026. Sports games (54%) and action games (50%) continue to lead.

• Arcade is the only genre where ATT opt-in declined, from 50% to 46%.

• The strongest ATT opt-in growth was in India, from 44% to 51%. In absolute terms, Indonesia leads at 60% in Q1 2026.

Source

GameDiscoverCo: Top Games on Steam and Consoles in March 2026

The data is from GameDiscoverCo Pro, one of the PC/Console data analytics leaders. Sales include both direct Steam purchases and direct key sales.

Top 10 New Releases on Steam by Copies Sold

• Slay the Spire 2 led March by copies sold, with over 5 million units sold on Steam. The original game has over 10 million players and a median playtime of 26 hours (average: 74 hours!). The sequel also has co-op.

• Crimson Desert was second, with 2.2 million copies sold on Steam and over 3 million total, including PlayStation and Xbox. The developers have already reported that 5 million copies have been sold.

• Marathon sold 920k copies on Steam in March, though console sales were considerably weaker.

• Fourth by copies was Scritchy Scratchy (608k copies), a $6.99 game built around scratch cards of all kinds.

• Death Stranding 2 sold 459k copies on Steam in March; combined with the original PlayStation release, total sales have exceeded 2.5 million copies. GameDiscoverCo analysts note with surprise that 43% of all reviews for the game come from keys sold outside Steam (China region?).

Top 10 New Releases on Steam by Revenue

• Slay the Spire 2 also topped the revenue chart, earning over $115 million. Crimson Desert was right behind, generating just over $105 million on Steam in March.

• Among other new releases, only Marathon, Death Stranding 2, and Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection (a JRPG spin-off of the main series) crossed the $10 million mark.

Top 10 Games on Steam by Revenue (All Games)

• Slay the Spire 2 and Crimson Desert took second and third place in the overall monthly Steam revenue chart, right behind the perennial leader Counter-Strike 2 ($148.2 million in March).

• Apex Legends ($52.1 million) and PUBG: Battlegrounds ($41.9 million) continue to hold firmly in the top 10.

• Resident Evil Requiem, which launched back on February 26, added another $58.8 million in March, bringing its Steam totals to 2.5 million copies and $134 million in revenue. Per GameDiscoverCo estimates, total sales across all platforms have exceeded 7 million copies and $400 million in revenue.

Console Game Sales

• Baseball sim MLB The Show 26 sold over 1.1 million copies on consoles, with 93% of sales coming from the US. The game has no PC version.

• Crimson Desert was the second best-selling console game of March, with over 900,000 copies on PlayStation and under 300,000 on Xbox.

• WWE 2K26 sold nearly 600,000 copies across all platforms, with almost 350,000 on PlayStation. The Middle East accounts for a notable share of the audience, around 15%.

• Marathon had a weak console launch, with around 400,000 of its total 1.3 million copies sold coming from consoles. North America accounts for 61% of the PlayStation audience, though the game showed little traction in China, Brazil, and the MENA region.

• Pokemon Pokopia sold 2.2 million copies in its first 4 days and was the clear leader on Nintendo Switch in March.

• Blue Prince is approaching 50,000 copies sold on the eShop; Monster Hunter Stories 3, Scott Pilgrim EX, and MLB The Show 26 are each in the tens of thousands.

Source

Newzoo: Top Roblox Games in 2025

Data is provided by Gamefam RoMonitor Stats. Rankings are based on total visits per quarter.

Platform Overview

• Roblox significantly outpaced the market in 2025. Revenue grew 36% YoY to $4.9 billion. Total bookings grew 55% to $6.8 billion. The global games market grew 7.5% over the same period.

• Total time spent in games reached 123.8 billion hours (+69% YoY), with daily active users averaging 126.5 million (+53% YoY).

Top Games by Quarters

• Several new hits emerged on Roblox in 2025, showing the platform’s potential for scale. Three titles released during the year reached numbers no game had previously seen on the platform: Grow a Garden (12.3 billion visits in Q2), Steal a Brainrot (26.4 billion visits in Q3), and 99 Nights in the Forest (over 10 billion visits within a few months of launch).

• Q2 2025 was the first quarter in which at least one game crossed 10 million peak CCU. By Q3, three games had hit that mark; Q4 saw two again.

• The records were followed by equally rapid declines. Grow a Garden dropped out of the top 10 by December; Steal a Brainrot had lost around 30% of its monthly visits from the August peak by the same month.

• Though some titles showed real longevity. Brookhaven RP and Blox Fruits were in the top 10 every single month of 2025. RIVALS and The Strongest Battlegrounds made the top 10 in 11 out of 12 months.

Audience Concentration

• The share of total top-10 visits held by the single largest title grew throughout the year, from 22% in Q1’25 to 43% in Q4’25.

• By year’s end, 3 games in the top 10 accounted for over 70% of all visits.

Source

Data is provided by Gamefam RoMonitor Stats. Rankings are based on total visits per quarter.

Platform Overview

• Roblox significantly outpaced the market in 2025. Revenue grew 36% YoY to $4.9 billion. Total bookings grew 55% to $6.8 billion. The global games market grew 7.5% over the same period.

• Total time spent in games reached 123.8 billion hours (+69% YoY), with daily active users averaging 126.5 million (+53% YoY).

Top Games by Quarters

• Several new hits emerged on Roblox in 2025, showing the platform’s potential for scale. Three titles released during the year reached numbers no game had previously seen on the platform: Grow a Garden (12.3 billion visits in Q2), Steal a Brainrot (26.4 billion visits in Q3), and 99 Nights in the Forest (over 10 billion visits within a few months of launch).

• Q2 2025 was the first quarter in which at least one game crossed 10 million peak CCU. By Q3, three games had hit that mark; Q4 saw two again.

• The records were followed by equally rapid declines. Grow a Garden dropped out of the top 10 by December; Steal a Brainrot had lost around 30% of its monthly visits from the August peak by the same month.

• Though some titles showed real longevity. Brookhaven RP and Blox Fruits were in the top 10 every single month of 2025. RIVALS and The Strongest Battlegrounds made the top 10 in 11 out of 12 months.

Audience Concentration

• The share of total top-10 visits held by the single largest title grew throughout the year, from 22% in Q1’25 to 43% in Q4’25.

• By year's end, 3 games in the top 10 accounted for over 70% of all visits.

Source

The data is from GameDiscoverCo Pro, one of the PC/Console data analytics leaders. Sales include both direct Steam purchases and direct key sales.

Top 10 New Releases on Steam by Copies Sold

• Slay the Spire 2 led March by copies sold, with over 5 million units sold on Steam. The original game has over 10 million players and a median playtime of 26 hours (average: 74 hours!). The sequel also has co-op.

• Crimson Desert was second, with 2.2 million copies sold on Steam and over 3 million total, including PlayStation and Xbox. The developers have already reported that 5 million copies have been sold.

• Marathon sold 920k copies on Steam in March, though console sales were considerably weaker.

• Fourth by copies was Scritchy Scratchy (608k copies), a $6.99 game built around scratch cards of all kinds.

• Death Stranding 2 sold 459k copies on Steam in March; combined with the original PlayStation release, total sales have exceeded 2.5 million copies. GameDiscoverCo analysts note with surprise that 43% of all reviews for the game come from keys sold outside Steam (China region?).

Top 10 New Releases on Steam by Revenue

• Slay the Spire 2 also topped the revenue chart, earning over $115 million. Crimson Desert was right behind, generating just over $105 million on Steam in March.

• Among other new releases, only Marathon, Death Stranding 2, and Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection (a JRPG spin-off of the main series) crossed the $10 million mark.

Top 10 Games on Steam by Revenue (All Games)

• Slay the Spire 2 and Crimson Desert took second and third place in the overall monthly Steam revenue chart, right behind the perennial leader Counter-Strike 2 ($148.2 million in March).

• Apex Legends ($52.1 million) and PUBG: Battlegrounds ($41.9 million) continue to hold firmly in the top 10.

• Resident Evil Requiem, which launched back on February 26, added another $58.8 million in March, bringing its Steam totals to 2.5 million copies and $134 million in revenue. Per GameDiscoverCo estimates, total sales across all platforms have exceeded 7 million copies and $400 million in revenue.

Console Game Sales

• Baseball sim MLB The Show 26 sold over 1.1 million copies on consoles, with 93% of sales coming from the US. The game has no PC version.

• Crimson Desert was the second best-selling console game of March, with over 900,000 copies on PlayStation and under 300,000 on Xbox.

• WWE 2K26 sold nearly 600,000 copies across all platforms, with almost 350,000 on PlayStation. The Middle East accounts for a notable share of the audience, around 15%.

• Marathon had a weak console launch, with around 400,000 of its total 1.3 million copies sold coming from consoles. North America accounts for 61% of the PlayStation audience, though the game showed little traction in China, Brazil, and the MENA region.

• Pokemon Pokopia sold 2.2 million copies in its first 4 days and was the clear leader on Nintendo Switch in March.

• Blue Prince is approaching 50,000 copies sold on the eShop; Monster Hunter Stories 3, Scott Pilgrim EX, and MLB The Show 26 are each in the tens of thousands.

Source