I crunched the numbers and ranked the highest-earning and most download mobile games in the world in January. January beating December in revenue almost never happens, but that's exactly what the data shows.
MONOPOLY GO! was the highest-earning mobile game in the world in January, with $134M in after-fee revenue, according to App Intelligence. That's its best month since at least March 2025 and puts the title's total net revenue past $3.5B since launch. January coincided with a Wizarding World partner event. MONOPOLY GO!'s biggest revenue months consistently line up with IP collaborations. Fantastic Beasts in July drove an estimated $122M.
Last War came in second with $118M in net revenue, down from $137M in December, according to our estimates. Korean regulators are investigating developer Funfly over misleading ads and punitive refund policies. Revenue hasn't noticed, but it's worth watching.
Honor of Kings, Royal Match, and Whiteout Survival round out the top five. Honor of Kings is the story here. Revenue of the China-only title jumped 10%, fueled by 10th anniversary celebrations. A $15M month-over-month bump from a live event in a single market is a hefty increase.
Below the top five, the reshuffling gets more interesting. Gossip Harbor earned an estimated $79M, leapfrogging Candy Crush Saga at an estimated $77M. And Century Games now has two titles in the top 10 with Whiteout Survival at #5 and Kingshot at #9. Kingshot's rise has been one of the bigger stories in mobile gaming lately.
The top 10 earned an estimated $935M in January, up roughly 8%. January beating December is a signal that live ops and seasonal events are making traditional seasonality less relevant. When games can manufacture their own spending moments, the calendar matters a smidge less.
Revenue is up, but downloads tell a different story.
Block Blast was the most-downloaded mobile game in the world in January with an estimated 25M downloads, down from 30M in December. Block Blast has held the #1 spot for months now, which is not typical behavior for a puzzle game. Most titles spike and fade. This one is sticking.
Roblox came in second with an estimated 20M downloads. Roblox is one of the few titles that consistently charts in both revenue and downloads, a combination most games can only dream of.
Subway Surfers, Pizza Ready!, and Vita Mahjong round out the top five. Subway Surfers and Vita Mahjong both grew downloads month over month, bucking the typical seasonal slowdown.
Notable absence: Gossip Harbor earned an estimated $79M in revenue, enough for #6 on the earnings chart, but didn't crack the download top 10. That's pure monetization muscle.
The top 10 combined for an estimated 152M downloads, roughly flat compared to December. The trend I've been talking about on the apps side is also happening for games.
The revenue chart reshuffled dramatically in January. MONOPOLY GO! reclaimed #1, Honor of Kings surged, Gossip Harbor overtook Candy Crush, and the overall total beat December. Meanwhile, the download chart barely moved.
That contrast says something important about where mobile gaming is headed. Growth is coming from monetization, not just user acquisition. The games at the top aren't winning by getting more people to download. They're winning by getting existing players to spend more through live events, IP collaborations, and seasonal content.
In its first 12 months on mobile, Grok earned an estimated $79M in net revenue. ChatGPT earned $80M. No other AI chatbot comes close.
Kingshot, from the studio behind Whiteout Survival, earned $500M in its first year on mobile. Together, Century Games' two hits now earn $140M per month.