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10 years. ~105x mobile revenue growth. >90% organic installs. 鈾燂笍馃摫

Chess.com鈥檚 estimated monthly mobile IAP revenue grew from just ~$56K in 2016 to ~$5.9M in 2026. And somehow, >90% of its installs are still organic.

LinkedIn

9 out of 10 of August鈥檚 fastest-growing mobile publishers came from Asia. 馃審馃摫

Sensor Tower鈥檚 latest IAP growth ranking shows just how dominant Asian publishers were in August: 4 from China, 3 from Japan, and 2 from South Korea. Roblox, at #8, was the only North American publisher in the top 10.

Breakdown
Dig Treasure!Popcore GmbH 路 Casual
App Store

Gameplay

A hidden-object puzzle built around tile excavation. Players chip away at a covered grid to uncover buried objects, with each action gradually revealing shapes and clues beneath the surface.

Game feel

Simple, tactile, and immediately satisfying. The digging creates a strong sense of discovery, especially when part of an object starts to emerge and the player can infer what is still hidden.

Meta

The core progression appears to come mainly from new excavation layouts, object sets, and increasingly tricky placements. The mechanic is strong enough to work with a relatively light meta, though collections or themed treasure sets would fit naturally around it.

Monetization

The format creates obvious opportunities for rewarded hints, extra digging actions, or reveals when players are close to identifying an object but run out of efficient moves. Because curiosity drives the loop, monetization can sit around information rather than raw power.

Why it鈥檚 noteworthy

It repackages a very familiar excavation fantasy into a clean mobile puzzle loop. Anyone who remembers the mining minigame from Pok茅mon Diamond/Pearl will recognize the appeal immediately: uncovering just enough of an object to guess what lies underneath is the hook.

List

5 new games I tested this week

  1. 1
    Dig Treasure!Popcore GmbH 路 CasualA hidden-object puzzle built around tile-excavation mechanic. If you鈥檝e ever played the mining minigame in Pok茅mon Diamond/Pearl, this should feel immediately familiar
    App Store
  2. 2
    Sort Block: Association PuzzleRIO MASTER DMCC 路 PuzzleMove blocks of items to gates that match their categories, combining the popular block-escape puzzle structure with category-association, a mechanic pattern that also appears to be gaining traction
    App Store
  3. 3
    Paws OutRollic Games 路 Puzzle
    App Store
  4. 4
    Mirror BlocksBarbozo 路 Puzzle
    Google Play
  5. 5
    Good Loop!Lost Panda Games Oyun Yazilim Bilisim Teknolojileri Ticaret Anonim Sirketi 路 Puzzle
    App Store