Tencent Leads 2025 Global Mobile Gaming Market as Eight Titles Surpass $1 Billion Revenue
The global mobile gaming sector showed resilience in 2025, with gross revenue stabilizing and top-tier titles consolidating market share. According to data released by AppMagic, global mobile game revenue rose 0.5% year-on-year, with eight distinct titles generating over US$1 billion in net revenue after platform fees. The charts were dominated by Chinese publishers, which secured 12 of the top 30 spots, underscoring their deepening influence on the global digital entertainment landscape.
Tencent reaffirmed its status as the industry’s dominant force, placing six titles in the top 30 and generating an aggregate revenue exceeding US$4 billion from these leading games alone. The company’s flagship title, Honor of Kings, successfully defended its position as the world’s highest-grossing mobile game, while its new shooter, Delta Force, emerged as a critical growth engine.
Beyond the established giants, the strategy genre proved to be the year’s most lucrative category, accounting for a significant portion of the billion-dollar club. Titles such as Last War: Survival and Whiteout Survival recorded massive gains, with the latter seeing a 50% revenue surge. Notably, Kingshot was the only new release from 2025 to break into the top 30, highlighting the increasing difficulty for new intellectual properties to penetrate a saturated market.
Tencent’s Fortress: Legacy Hits and New Growth
Tencent captured the lion’s share of the market, with its portfolio led by Honor of Kings. The decade-old MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) game generated over US$1.6 billion in 2025. The title topped the global revenue charts for eight months of the year, driven by a record-breaking 139 million daily active users (DAU) in China and over 260 million monthly active users (MAU) globally. The game’s longevity was sustained through IP collaborations and the introduction of new competitive modes.
A significant development for Tencent was the rapid ascent of Delta Force. Following its late 2024 launch, the extraction shooter generated over US$355 million in 2025. The game demonstrated strong monetization potential, with monthly revenue jumping more than 130% during key seasonal updates in January, April, and July. By November, Delta Force had cracked the global top 10 revenue list, validating Tencent’s strategy in the hardcore shooter vertical.
Other Tencent properties also delivered robust performances. PUBG Mobile ranked 7th with over US$1.12 billion in revenue, while Golden Spatula, DNF Mobile, and CrossFire Mobile contributed a combined total of nearly US$1 billion, demonstrating the publisher's diverse revenue streams.
Strategy Games Dominate the High-End Market
The mid-core sector, particularly strategy and RPG categories, accounted for 70% of the top 30 chart. Last War: Survival, published by FUNFLY, overtook Roblox to claim the second spot globally with over US$1.5 billion in revenue, marking a 40% year-on-year increase. The title found immense success in the United States, Japan, and South Korea, which collectively accounted for over 70% of its earnings.
Century Games secured two spots in the top tier. Its flagship survival strategy game, Whiteout Survival, ranked 4th with over US$1.4 billion in revenue, seeing its earnings double in the Chinese and Japanese markets. The company also produced the year’s breakout hit, Kingshot. As the only 2025 release to enter the top 30, Kingshot generated US$448 million. The game differentiated itself with a lighter, medieval art style and a hybrid "Tower Defense plus SLG" gameplay loop, which helped lower entry barriers for players and improve retention rates.
Resurgence of Legacy Titles and Niche Breakouts
The 2025 rankings also highlighted the durability of legacy western titles and the rise of niche genres. Supercell’s Clash Royale staged a remarkable comeback, with revenue soaring approximately 150% year-on-year to US$450 million. The growth was attributed to a major overhaul of its economic system and the introduction of new game modes, pushing September daily active users to new highs.
In the casual sector, Microfun saw its merge game Gossip Harbor generate US$550 million, with a 190% revenue spike in the fourth quarter. The game found its primary audience in Western markets, including the U.S., Germany, and the U.K.
Meanwhile, Papergames saw its immersive dating simulation game, Love and Deepspace, grow its revenue by 36% to US$369 million. The title experienced significant revenue spikes during limited-time character events, proving the high monetization potential of the female-oriented gaming demographic. Additionally, miHoYo maintained a strong presence with Honkai: Star Rail and Genshin Impact ranking 15th and 23rd respectively, contributing a combined total of over US$750 million.