[Spicemart Survey] Approximately 70% of new titles entering the Top 200 in 2025 are RPGs. Top-ranking titles show a high proportion of IP-based games.

Spicemart Inc. conducted a survey targeting 126 smartphone game titles that first ranked within the App Store sales ranking Top 200 (hereinafter, newly ranked) in 2025, based on data acquired through its proprietary operation solution 'LIVEOPSIS'.

This survey investigates the genre distribution, presence of IP utilization, and ratio of overseas-originated titles among newly ranked titles, and is being distributed as a report to 'LIVEOPSIS' contract companies. This release introduces a part of its overview.

*The survey is based on data acquired by 'LIVEOPSIS' provided by Spicemart.

You can open a free account to try 'LIVEOPSIS' here. Please also check out the articles available for free viewing.

[Survey Overview]

Period: January 2025 - December 2025

Target: Smartphone game titles released during the period and listed as newly ranked apps in 'LIVEOPSIS' (*)

Content: Genre distribution, presence of IP utilization, ratio of overseas-originated titles, etc.

*Smartphone game titles that first ranked within the App Store sales ranking Top 200. While some titles may rank up months or years after release, for the purpose of "observing new trends," titles released more than 90 days ago or buy-to-play apps were excluded from this survey.

RPGs constitute approximately 70% of newly ranked titles.

Looking at the genre composition of the 126 titles newly ranked in 2025, RPG genres, including "RPG," "Idle RPG," and "Action RPG," totaled 87 titles, accounting for approximately 70% of the total.

In Spicemart's previous surveys, RPG titles were the most numerous in 2023 with 45 titles, and among them, idle RPGs increased to 21 titles, showing an upward trend over the past three years and increasing their proportion within the genre. Meanwhile, MMORPGs and育成シミュレーション (training simulations) showed a decreasing trend.

While original titles account for about 60%, Japanese IP titles have a higher proportion among top performers.

In this survey, "non-IP" titles, which are original works among the newly ranked titles in 2025, accounted for 52%, exceeding the majority.

On the other hand, titles that ranked high in both initial performance and recent (※) App Store sales rankings had a higher proportion of IP-based works. Out of 7 titles within the top 30, 6 were popular Japanese IP titles, and 4 of them were based on popular Japanese anime, such as 'SD Gundam G Generation Eternal', 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica Magia Exedra', and 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Ora Ora Overdrive'.

*Highest rank as of January 2026, data acquired by LIVEOPSIS

Overseas titles maintain approximately 60%, but show a slight decrease year-on-year.

The ratio of overseas titles (※) among newly ranked titles in 2025 was 59.5%, accounting for the majority. By region, titles from mainland China were the most numerous in each year from 2023 to 2025, all exceeding 60%. In 2025, there was a slight decrease compared to 2024, though no significant difference.

*In this survey, if the headquarters was identifiable, the headquarters' location was used as the standard; if not, the operating company's location was used.

Regarding initial ranking positions upon release and service continuation status.

This survey also investigated the initial sales ranking position upon release and the subsequent service continuation status. Among the 126 surveyed titles, 4 titles (3.2% of the total) first ranked within the Top 200 sales ranking more than one month after release, a slight decrease compared to 5.4% in 2024. All of these were titles by overseas companies.

Furthermore, 5 titles (3.9%) had ended or were scheduled to end service, a slight decrease compared to 4.7% last year. Most of these titles were outside the Top 200 sales ranking or had low rankings in their early release stages. A strong start immediately after release is considered one of the crucial factors.

About the Report

This release is an excerpt of the survey results. The full survey report, including genre distribution, presence of IP utilization, and ratio of overseas-originated titles, is distributed to companies contracting with Spicemart's operation solution 'LIVEOPSIS'. For inquiries regarding LIVEOPSIS, please contact us below.

About Spicemart Inc.

Spicemart Inc. specializes in research and analysis of the smartphone game market, and also develops business support services utilizing Japanese IP licenses and business matching services. As part of its research and analysis business, it conducts surveys for global markets including Japan, China, Korea, and the United States, and provides survey reports to members of its operation solution 'LIVEOPSIS'.

[Service List]

[Global IP Connect] https://liveopsis.com/collaboration

Game x IP Collaboration: Provides one-stop support from proposing collaboration title candidates to contract procedures and supervision of creative works.

[LIVEOPSIS] https://liveopsis.com/

A solution that covers all data necessary for smartphone game analysis and operation.

[LIVEBeauty] https://livebeauty.jp/

SNS marketing tool for beauty and cosmetics brands.

[Company Overview]

Company Name: Spicemart Inc.

Representative: Masumi Kubo, Representative Director

Location: BLOCKS EBISU 909, 1-11-2 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Established: July 2015

Business Activities:

1) Mobile game operation research business focused on Japan and East Asia

2) Mobile game operation consulting business focused on Japan and East Asia

3) Game collaboration brokerage business handling a series of tasks including planning, negotiation, and supervision of collaborations with Japanese IP holders.

URL: http://corp.spicemart.jp/