On October 13, Sensor Tower released its top 10 global mobile game revenue and download rankings for September 2026.
Honor of Kings, owned by Tencent Holdings (00700), continued to hold the top spot on the global mobile game revenue chart in September 2026. It was followed by ROBLOX, Gossip Harbor, Candy Crush Saga, and MONOPOLY GO!, which together made up the top five on the global revenue chart.
According to Sensor Tower's app performance insights data, Honor of Kings sustained strong revenue momentum in September, mainly supported by its core market in China. The "Moon Shines on Chang'an" season went live, introducing the new hero Wang Wei, along with the season-exclusive summoner spell "Mist Over a Thousand Mountains," and launched "Travel Diary"-themed battle pass skins. During this update period, both downloads and player spending rose slightly, reflecting that new gameplay and season-themed cosmetics helped reignite player interest and drive monetization.
ROBLOX put in a strong performance in September, with a series of new game content and online events launching during the period. Showdown features fast-paced anime-style combat, while GOAT Football League adds a lighthearted, humorous twist to competitive soccer gameplay. The month's key event, "The Hunt: Roblox 20," was built around the platform's 20th anniversary, allowing players to complete tasks across multiple classic ROBLOX games to earn exclusive rewards. Brookhaven RP partnered with Jurassic World, adding dinosaurs and new vehicles; Dungeon Heroes launched its "Dragon Festival" battle pass, bringing new pets, skills, and cosmetic content. These updates provided fresh incentives for player returns and spending; during the same period, ROBLOX's revenue momentum also strengthened further.
Other top-grossing games maintained player activity in September through continuous themed events. Candy Crush Saga launched a "Music Season," allowing players to create their own musical works and collect rewards; the game also collaborated with two internationally renowned musicians, Shania Twain and Zedd, adding star power to the event and offering chances to win prizes. Pokémon GO kicked off the month with the "GO Fest 2026: Mega Finale" event, centered on raids featuring Mega Mewtwo X and Mega Mewtwo Y. This was followed by a Pokémon Horizons: The Series collaboration event, introducing specially costumed Pokémon and themed rewards. The "Harvest Festival" launched at the end of the month featured Shiny Applin, giving players a new collection goal and extending the event's momentum into October.
In September 2026, global player spending on mobile games across the App Store and Google Play reached $6.13 billion, down 7% month-over-month. In terms of market share, the United States ranked first with 28.7% of total revenue; China (iOS only) followed with 15.7%; and Japan ranked third with 12.4%. On the global mobile game revenue growth chart, ROBLOX also took the top spot in September. Based on iOS revenue, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada were its top three markets, with the United States contributing the largest monthly revenue increment. Meanwhile, Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle once again drove player spending during the "Global Dokkan Campaign 2026" event. Players could use in-game currency to summon featured characters of the period, including Frieza and Super Saiyan Goku, followed by Super Saiyan Gohan and Perfect Cell. Revenue peaked each time a character was released.
Zeus: The God of Arrogance, launched on August 26, carried its strong debut momentum into September. As initial download热度 cooled, the game's revenue remained steady. On September 16, the game also opened a new server group, offering players a chance to start fresh and more room for growth. Eclipse: The Awakening, a fantasy-themed MMORPG under Smilegate Holdings, ranked 5th on the global mobile game revenue growth chart in September, with South Korea being its strongest market. The game uses an AI mode that allows characters to continue growing while players are offline, and supports cross-platform play between PC and mobile, providing more flexibility for character progression. Players can combine abilities, fuse two skills, explore new combat styles, and participate in 20-vs-20 team battles that last 10 minutes each. Launch events also offer guaranteed high-tier rewards, helping new players get started faster.
Honor of Kings Chess, owned by Tencent, ranked 7th on the global mobile game revenue growth chart, with its performance mainly driven by the Chinese market. This auto-battler game supports six players each selecting Honor of Kings heroes to build their lineup and compete through multiple rounds of automatic battles. Auction mechanics, special skills, and effect cards add variables to each match, potentially even changing the outcome. Familiar heroes lower the entry barrier for Honor of Kings players, while diverse lineup combinations bring different strategic choices to each match.
Overall, the September rankings show that mature products and new titles are maintaining player spending in different ways. Season updates, anniversaries, collaboration events, and new character releases give players reasons to return; new titles gradually build popularity through familiar IPs, strategic gameplay, and flexible progression systems. For deeper insights into the operational strategies affecting game monetization and player engagement, please refer to Sensor Tower's Playliner operations event insights platform.
Top 10 Global Mobile Game Downloads in September 2026
ROBLOX topped the global mobile game download chart in September 2026, with Free Fire ranking 2nd. Block Blast!, Subway Surfers, and Bus Fever Party! followed, together making up the top five on the global download chart.
ROBLOX once again topped the global mobile game download chart in September. The platform's rich creator-made content offers players a wide variety of gaming experiences, while social features allow friends to discover and play together. Diverse content, shared play experiences with friends, and a constant stream of new content help ROBLOX maintain broad appeal and attract new users.
Free Fire continued to hold 2nd place on the global mobile game download chart in September. On September 16, the game launched another collaboration event with the popular ninja anime NARUTO SHIPPUDEN. Players can explore the Hidden Leaf Village from the anime and complete missions to earn free Hinata- or Jiraiya-themed outfits. Familiar scenes and collectible rewards gave anime fans new reasons to return to the game.
Bus Fever Party! rose to 5th place on the global download chart in September and ranked 1st on the download growth chart. This bus-sorting puzzle game, published by Lumi Games, has accumulated over 21 million downloads since its launch in June 2025, with India, Brazil, the United States, Mexico, and Indonesia as its main markets. Players direct traffic by moving buses and matching passengers with the corresponding vehicles. Simple controls, colorful visuals, and gradually increasing level difficulty combine to lower the entry barrier while retaining a degree of strategy, helping it attract players across different markets.
In September 2026, global mobile game downloads reached 3.56 billion, down 5.2% month-over-month. India ranked first with 576 million downloads (16.2% share); the United States (7.2%) and Brazil (6%) followed in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.
Honor of Kings Chess had a strong debut in September, ranking 2nd on the global mobile game download growth chart, with downloads mainly from the Chinese market. This launch expanded the Honor of Kings IP into a new game category, offering its existing player base a new way to experience the IP. The game's performance shows that a mature IP can provide a strong starting point for a new product launch.
Brain Puzzle 3: Crazy Mind entered the global mobile game download growth chart in September and rose 16 places to 7th on the global download chart. Published by Smallstep Technology, the game combines humorous cartoon scenarios with puzzles, encouraging players to find unexpected solutions. Simple tap and drag controls, plus helpful hints, make the game easy to pick up; varied plot twists keep the gameplay fresh. Indonesia, the Philippines, Brazil, Russia, and Mexico are its main markets.
MiniMuse ranked 8th on the global mobile game download growth chart after launching in September, with main markets including the United States and Brazil. Players can design characters, mix and match outfits, and create scenes to tell their own stories. These features take the experience beyond dress-up, offering players more ways to explore fashion and express creativity.
Meanwhile, Keyboard Escape: +1 Speed ASMR, Color Block: Combo Blast, and Bulldozer Master, published by Supercent, ranked 4th, 6th, and 10th on the download growth chart, respectively. The three games focus on obstacle challenges, block puzzles, and idle digging, respectively, offering clear progression goals based on familiar gameplay.
Overall, the September download chart demonstrates the lasting appeal of mature hit products as well as the development potential of new titles. Social gameplay and well-known IPs help top products maintain popularity, while easy-to-pick-up puzzle gameplay, creative customization content, and familiar game themes offer new players diverse entry options. These results show that both content-rich games and titles with distinctive gameplay can attract large numbers of players in the global market.