Seasonal collections explode in popularity, connecting live ops ramps up engagement, and adjacent genres reignite mini-game performance.

Tasty Travel leads the expanding merge-2 space, Magic Sort becomes the king of the sort genre, and Color Block Jam achieves one of the strongest growth spurts of any casual app.

Travel Town introduces limited-time collection sets, Family Island adds upgrade mechanics to its collection season, and Angry Birds 2 reintroduces space-themed mechanics from an older Angry Birds title.

Web store VIP and loyalty programs increase web store UA, retention, and spend, but only 6 of the 136 top apps we analyzed have such programs.

IP collaborations that add new modes, maps, or mechanics drive larger revenue and download increases compared to collaborations that don’t affect gameplay.

Incorporating multiple novel mini-games into holiday expansions enables developers to boost spend and retention simultaneously.

Last Z's adaptation of Last War: Survival's gameplay loop and popular playables have helped it quickly rise up the strategy charts.

Battle Guys aims to carve out a space in the family-friendly battle royale niche.

Brawl Stars launches an expansion based on the Stranger Things TV series, Archero releases a mini-game with stock market-like mechanics, and PUBG runs a regional competition.

Connecting multiple events through a shared resource loop creates a multi-stage progression that sustains engagement with each event.

Top Tycoon's unique map-building progression, expansive live ops, and misleading ads have helped it grow steadily throughout 2025.

Jackpot World introduces a scavenger hunt with recipe mechanics, Monopoly GO! releases a Battleship mini-game, and Bingo Blitz collaborates with Garfield.