Sensor Tower Releases December 2025 Global Mobile Game Data

Sensor Tower Releases December 2025 Global Mobile Game Data: Chinese Companies Lead Revenue Charts, Three Titles Achieve 10-Billion-Yuan Annual Revenue Milestone

Jane.6, the authoritative data analytics firm Sensor Tower  released its December 2025 global mobile game market insights report. The report shows that among the top 100 global mobile game publishers by revenue, a total of 33 Chinese companies made the list, collectively generating $1.95 billion and accounting for 34.6% of the total revenue of the global TOP 100 publishers, demonstrating formidable market dominance.

The report also highlights the growth miracles of several standout titles for the year, with some products achieving astonishing revenue increases. The highest recorded an annual revenue surge of 86 times year-over-year. Even more notably, an estimated three titles each achieved annual revenue exceeding the 10-billion-yuan (approximately $1.4 billion) mark, signaling a new “super-hit” era for Chinese mobile games in the global market.

I. Top Publishers Maintain Strong Positions: Tencent Defends Title, Century Games and Lemon Microfun Hold Steady

In December 2025, Tencent, powered by the collective爆发 (outstanding performance) of its flagship product portfolio, strongly defended its position as the world’s top-grossing mobile game publisher. Its flagship title Honor of Kings once again surpassed $2 billion in annual revenue (excluding third-party Android channels in China), continuing to lead the Chinese market. Simultaneously, the auto-battler Teamfight Tactics (Gold Spatula War), driven by a new season and live-ops events, saw its revenue surge by 50% in December. The standout performer was the tactical shooter Delta Force: Hawk Ops, which saw its full-year 2025 revenue skyrocket by 29 times year-over-year, with cumulative revenue breaking the $500 million barrier, solidifying its role as the company’s strongest growth engine.

Century Games secured the runner-up position on the global publisher revenue chart, thanks to the stable long-term performance of its survival strategy game Whiteout Survival (global cumulative revenue has exceeded $4 billion) and the strong growth of its new merge title Tasty Travels: Merge Game (December revenue increased by 30% month-over-month).

Lemon Microfun, a leader in the merge genre, saw revenue from its flagship titles like Gossip Harbor and Seaside Escape continue to climb, driven by impactful Christmas-themed activities. This pushed the company’s December revenue to a new high, successfully breaking into the global TOP 10. Its full-year 2025 revenue soared by 165% year-over-year, maintaining its position as the third-highest earner on the chart.

II. Breakout New Titles and Major Updates Ignite the Market, Propelling Publisher Rankings

The global market in December was set ablaze by the explosive performance of several titles, directly reshaping the revenue rankings:

NetEase: Its Chinese-style open-world martial arts masterpiece Where Winds Meet (titled Yanyun Shiliu Sheng domestically) launched on overseas mobile platforms on December 12th, topping download charts in multiple regions. Following the release of its first anniversary update, “Crossing the River at Dusk,” on December 27th, global revenue surged dramatically. The game not only surpassed Honor of Kings to claim the top spot on the Chinese iOS bestseller chart but also jumped to become the second-highest grossing game on the global iOS chart. This performance drove NetEase’s mobile game revenue up by 16% month-over-month, firmly placing it in the 4th position on the publisher revenue chart.

Paper Network: Driven by the concentrated impact of a new character release in early December and the massive 5.0 version anniversary celebration at month’s end, its title Love and Deepspace saw December revenue increase by a staggering 122% month-over-month, setting a new historical record and reclaiming the top spot on the global mobile game bestseller chart. By the end of December, its global revenue had reached $930 million, poised to break the $1 billion mark imminently. This performance propelled Paper Network’s revenue up by 90%, vaulting it into the 7th position on the publisher revenue chart.

Youka Network: Its flagship card game Three Kingdoms Kill Mobile Edition saw its daily revenue skyrocket by 154% on December 6th following the launch of its “Year-End Benefits” version, setting a new historical peak. This drove the game’s December revenue up by 77%, leading to a 65% increase in the publisher’s overall revenue and a successful return to the global TOP 100 publisher list at 29th place.

III. Product Highlights: Annual Growth Miracles and the 10-Billion-Yuan Club

The Sensor Tower report data reveals remarkable product growth stories for 2025:

Highest Growth at 86x: The report indicates that the fastest-growing product on the 2025 global revenue chart achieved an astonishing annual revenue increase of 86 times year-over-year, showcasing the immense market rewards for phenomenal innovation.

Three Titles Join the 10-Billion-Yuan Club: Even more noteworthy is the estimation that three mobile game titles each achieved annual revenue at the 10-billion-yuan level. This milestone not only reflects the immense revenue-generating power of top-tier products but also signals a significant raising of the industry’s revenue ceiling. These products typically possess top-tier IP influence, continuous content innovation capabilities, and highly effective global operation strategies, allowing them to gather a vast paying user base worldwide.

IV. China iOS Game Revenue Chart: Established Leaders and Breakout Newcomers

On the China App Store game revenue chart, Tencent’s Honor of Kings, Teamfight Tactics (Gold Spatula War), Delta Force: Hawk Ops, and Game for Peace (Peacekeeper Elite) occupied the top four spots, showing a stable landscape. Powered by major updates, Love and Deepspace and Where Winds Meet became the most significant disruptors, jumping to 6th and 9th place on the chart, respectively. Notably, Where Winds Meet saw its revenue on the Chinese iOS market surge by 95% month-over-month, marking its first entry into the TOP 10.

Conclusion
The year-end 2025 market data indicates that the global competitiveness of Chinese mobile game publishers has evolved from “quantity in出海 (going global)” to a stage of “quality dominance.” Securing a foundation through long-term operations and achieving explosive growth through top-tier content innovation has become a shared path for leading companies. The emergence of an 86-fold growth rate and three 10-billion-yuan revenue titles not only sets new benchmarks for the industry but also suggests that future competition in the global mobile game market will increasingly focus on the battle for top talent, core technology, and super IPs.