We tore down Legend of Mushroom’s economy to see how its fast-paced gacha creates a slots-like flow without gating core gameplay.

In this month's Product Design Roundtable, our expert panel discusses Stumble Guys' decision to transform interactive emotes into abilities and what that means for the app's identity and key KPIs.

Paid progressions are an innovative hybrid of new-user bundles and battle passes that represent a major opportunity across markets.

Candy Crush Saga introduces a competition in which players complete levels to catch up to a rival player and earn prizes. Plus, an interactive discount mechanic in Hidden City, and a randomly spawning accelerator in Angry Birds Friends.

Screw Pin - Jam Puzzle borrows heavily from top puzzle app Screw Jam. Players solve physics-based puzzles by moving screws that anchor boards to the playing area. Screw Pin broke into the top 100 highest-grossing puzzle apps three months after launch and entered the top 75 on August 6, 2024.

Toca Boca Days marks Toca Boca’s first multiplayer app. It is designed to offer a safe experience for kids by limiting communication, ensuring anonymity, and requiring parental involvement to unlock key features. The app builds on Toca Boca World's character customization while introducing a 3D art style.

Candy Crush Saga’s Bonus Box Offer and Zen Match’s Big Bonus Buy introduce a new twist on chain offer events by requiring players to complete missions to unlock certain rewards. Incorporating missions into these events increases players' motivation to buy the IAP since they feel like they've earned it. Additionally, the difficult mission requirements drive players to use boosts frequently.

Core apps are innovating on the crowd-runner ad formula by adding cinematic intros, perspective shifts, and novel mechanics from apps in other genres.

In this month's Economy Roundtable, our expert panel explores why Squad Busters' record-breaking launch didn't translate into a massive playerbase, how its win streaks are both underused and too limited, and why a slow midgame progression might be harming its medium-term retention.

Solo Leveling:Arise debuted as the 5th highest-grossing action app and has remained in the top 25 during its first four months. This gacha-based action RPG combines characters and story elements from the popular webtoon Solo Leveling with fast-paced combat that involves timing abilities and building status effects. 

Brawl Stars launches an expansion that introduces new modes, limited-time abilities, and club events based on the Spongebob IP. Plus, an innovative accelerator feature in War Robots Multiplayer Battles and an adaptive reward system in Pixel Gun 3D.

Zenless Zone Zero combines PC-level graphics, gacha-based hero collection, and a nuanced combat system where players swap between heroes to execute complex combos. The app adds immersion to its urban fantasy setting by replacing traditional menus with in-game interactions like buying food buffs from restaurants and acquiring quests from text messages.