Top Mobile Gaming Apps of March
March 2025 revealed the volatility of mobile gaming charts, where new contenders climbed rapidly and aging hits lost a bit of their momentum.
Free downloads were led by titles like Block Blast! and Pizza Ready!, riding high on user acquisition and global reach, while former staples like Gardenscapes and Extreme Car Driving Simulator declined amid player fatigue.
On the revenue front, established monetization powerhouses such as Royal Match and PUBG Mobile held strong, but new IP-driven releases like Magia Exedra and DC: Dark Legion made notable gains. Meanwhile, games once buoyed by viral trends, like Dalgona Candy Cookie Games, saw sharp drop-offs.
We delve into all the hits, and misses, below.
Top 10 Free Games
Based on highest downloads:
March 2025’s top free games achieved their ranks through massive user acquisition, broad appeal, and engaging gameplay. Chinese puzzle hit Block Blast! dominated the download charts with roughly 39 million installs in March (about double that of #2 Roblox) by sustaining heavy UA campaigns and an “obsession” with A/B testing to optimize retention.
Perennial favorites Roblox (≈18.7 M downloads) and Subway Surfers (14.4 M) held high positions as well, leveraging user-generated content and frequent updates/events to keep players coming back.
Newer titles also solidified their spots: Supercent’s Pizza Ready! maintained a steady ~11 million monthly downloads with its accessible time-management gameplay, and Garena’s Free Fire (~11.6 M downloads in March) stayed in the top ranks thanks to its strong regional popularity (especially in LATAM/SEA) and constant in-game events driving engagement.
Top 10 Grossing Mobile Games
Based on highest revenue - estimated IAP revenue by platform fees and taxes:
In the top grossing category, strategic monetization and loyal communities drove success. Tencent’s MOBA Honor of Kings – usually a global revenue leader – saw spending cool off post–Lunar New Year (falling from over $200 million in Feb to about $120 million in March) after an aggressive holiday push, causing it to lose the #1 spot. This opened the door for a newer strategy title to briefly lead, while puzzle hit Royal Match continued its strong run with nearly $147 million (close to an all-time high).
Long-running PUBG Mobile also surged, grossing about $140 million – its best month since early 2023 – aided by fresh content updates and revived player engagement. Notably, even non-game apps dominated the revenue charts: TikTok’s massive user base and in-app gifting economy kept it among March’s top-grossing apps worldwide, and Google One’s ubiquitous cloud subscription model solidified it as a leading earner on Google Play.
Top Trending Mobile Games - Gainers
Top Free
The green line shows the app's performance in the Top Charts over November - the left side indicates the starting position, and the right indicates its current position:
All 10 titles saw sharp download spikes in March 2025 due to a mix of viral appeal, strategic promotion, and timely updates. Craft Block World Building (11+ million downloads) went viral as a free Minecraft-style sandbox, especially in emerging markets, and the similar Block Crazy Robo World Game (~2 million) surged after a March update. Brainy Prankster (~7.7 M) and Draw One Puzzle (~2.5 M) rode social media buzz around their tricky brain-teaser gameplay.
User acquisition tactics were crucial: Speed Man (~1.6 M) enticed players with real-money rewards (fueling referral growth), Cookingdom (~1.4 M) leveraged TikTok marketing of its relaxing cooking mini-games, and Dreamy Room (~4.4 M) benefited from app store featuring and word-of-mouth for its cozy organising puzzles.
Established publishers also boosted their launches – BabyBus’s kid-focused Game World: Life Story (~3.1 M) spiked after a global update, Flyyes’s ColorBlock: Combo Blast (10M+ installs) tapped into a worldwide block-puzzle craze, and Century Games’ Kingshot (~1.5 M) surged via aggressive marketing around its worldwide rollout.
Top Grossing
Revenue indicates IAP revenue reduced by platform fees and inclusive taxes:
In March 2025, these mobile titles saw revenue surges thanks to timely releases, events, and region-specific trends. New IP-driven launches like Madoka Magica Magia Exedra’s global debut and FunPlus' DC: Dark Legion (mid-March) drew in fan spending, while Tencent’s new One Piece action game in China tapped a huge anime fanbase. HoYoverse’s ARPG Zenless Zone Zero sustained momentum with fresh content updates and gacha monetization, and Identity V’s Sherlock Holmes crossover spurred purchases of exclusive skins in China and Japan.
China’s life-sim XD Town (Heartopia) leveraged Spring Festival events and customization features to climb the charts, as Dragonheir: Silent Gods spiked with its Tencent-backed China launch. In Japan, character fandom and seasonal timing boosted spending: Chiikawa Pocket converted its cute mascot craze into top gacha sales with a late-March release, Pro Yakyuu Spirits A surged at baseball season kickoff, and veteran Granblue Fantasy’s anniversary limited events and new characters coaxed whales back into spending.
Top Trending Mobile Games - Losers
Top Free
Top Grossing
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