The ten largest mobile game publishers earned $16.3 billion in the first half of 2026
This conclusion was reached by the analytics company Sensor Tower. The company calculated the revenue from in-app purchases (IAP) in games from Google Play and the App Store.
Gossip Harbor
According to the analysts, the most money, as usual, went to Tencent. For January-June 2026, it alone received over $5 billion from IAP. The highest-grossing game of the half-year in its portfolio was predictably Honor of Kings, but Brawl Stars, developed by Supercell, a company controlled by Tencent, also brought in a substantial amount. Notably, Brawl Stars' IAP revenue surged by 59% year-on-year, while another Supercell game, Clash Royale, saw a decline in revenue by 68%, essentially canceling each other out.
Overall, the top 10 saw little change compared to last year. In addition to Tencent, the list again included Century Games, Scopely, Playrix, Dream Games, and other well-known market companies.
The only newcomer among the ten largest publishers is the Chinese company Microfun, known for the merge puzzles Gossip Harbor and Flambé: Merge & Cook. It managed to secure the seventh spot by earning $1.06 billion.
Here's how the top 10 mobile publishers by IAP revenue look for the half-year:
1. Tencent — $5.03 billion (unchanged);
2. Century Games — $1.93 billion (+4%);
3. Scopely — $1.53 billion (-8%);
4. Microsoft — $1.36 billion (-7%);
5. Dream Games — $1.23 billion (-6%);
6. Playrix — $1.18 billion (-1%);
7. Microfun — $1.06 billion (+30%);
8. Take-Two Interactive — $1.04 billion (-11%);
9. FirstFun — $974 million (-22%);
10. Moon Active — $963 million (unchanged).