Pixel Flow Surpasses $100M, Mobile Spending Rises in May
Pixel Flow has crossed the $100 million mark in in-app purchase (IAP) revenue since its release in August 2025, according to data from Appmagic analyzed by game developer Kavindu Priyanath. This makes Loom Games’ title only the third hybrid-casual puzzle game to achieve this milestone, following Screwdom at $120 million and Color Block Jam at $148 million. The hybrid-casual puzzle genre is performing well in 2026, with the top ten games generating over $270 million in the first five months, compared to approximately $340 million for the entirety of 2025.
In May, global consumer spending on mobile games reached $6.6 billion, marking a 2% month-over-month increase according to estimates from Sensor Tower. The United States contributed 29.6% of this revenue, leading ahead of China (16.8% for iOS only) and Japan (12%). Tencent’s Honor of Kings maintained its position as the top-grossing game in May, bolstered by robust live-ops in China. Dream’s Royal Match climbed to second place in terms of worldwide revenue, while Century’s Whiteout Survival held steady in third.
Mobile game downloads also saw a 5% increase month-over-month, totaling 3.77 billion in May. India led the download charts with 703 million downloads, making up 18.7% of the total, followed by the US at 7.4% and Brazil at 6.3%. Lessmore’s Arrows Puzzle Escape became the most downloaded mobile game globally in May, moving up two spots, while Hungry’s Block Blast fell to second. Roblox also climbed to third place, with Garena’s Free Fire and Oakever’s Arrows Go! completing the top five.
Neverness to Everness, which launched globally on April 29, has seen 9.3 million downloads and generated over $28 million in IAP revenue for publisher Perfect World. The largest markets for this title are Japan and China, accounting for 43% and 28% of the IAP spending respectively, while South Korea and the US contributed 11% and 10%.
The recent Pokémon Go fest in Copenhagen attracted 614,000 players, marking the first sold-out event of its kind in Europe, with 60,000 tickets sold. During the event, players caught a total of 78.64 million Pokémon over the weekend from June 12-14.
European mobile app studio Luni has secured $14 million in user acquisition financing from PvX Partners, which will primarily support scaling its micro-drama platform, Shorts. Luni is also known for developing game-related apps such as Clash Mini Walkthrough Tricks, although it has a broader portfolio including Fitness Coach and Scanner.
Why it matters
A survey commissioned by gaming fintech company ZBD revealed that 90% of mobile game developers are considering implementing in-game loyalty systems to enhance player retention and engagement. Out of 195 senior developers surveyed in the US and UK, 31% are actively testing these systems, while 38% are planning to integrate them into their games. Additionally, 51% identified balancing monetization with player experience as a significant challenge, and many have increased their retention and reengagement budgets in the past year.
Original source
MobileGamer.biz
