Sensor Tower’s iOS Gaming Leaders for December 2015

Worldwide games category downloads on Apple's App Store grew more than 20 percent month-over-month in December, as revealed by Sensor Tower's Store Intelligence estimates, with nearly 104 million more games installed on iPhone and iPad last month than during November 2015. Revenue for the month from games neared $1 billion, up approximately 18 percent from the previous month's $847 million.

In this report, we've ranked the top 10 most downloaded and highest-grossing gaming titles that contributed to these figures, both in the United States and worldwide. Read on to see which new games had App Store users frantically tapping the "Get" button, and how the games category's top revenue performers fared during the final month of 2015.

Top Downloads: Classics Stage a Holiday Resurgence

{% columns %}

{% figure class: 'half standard' %}

{% endfigure %}

{% figure class: 'half standard' %}

{% endfigure %}

{% endcolumns %}

Click the charts above to view larger versions.

The games category's month-over-month growth in the U.S. for December outpaced worldwide performance, rising from approximately 143 million downloads in November 2015 to approximately 179 million last month, an increase of about 26 percent. Worldwide, games downloads grew 20 percent MoM, from approximately 510 million in November to approximately 614 million in December.

Downloads in the U.S. and worldwide were led by Cheetah Technology Corporation's music-based rhythm game Piano Tiles 2 (Don't Tap The White Tile 2). Originally released in August 2015, this free-to-play title spent the six days leading up to Christmas ranked No. 1 in all categories for iPhone, ending the year in the same position. It also spent several days as the No. 1 free game on both iPhone and iPad as December drew to a close, in addition to being the top free music game for both platforms.

Three of the top five most downloaded games in the U.S. during December were bona fide classics: Cut the Rope 2, Monument Valley, and Temple Run 2. The first two apps benefitted from going free for a week in early-to-mid-December, while the latter launched a significant content update during the first week of the month, renewing interest in this mainstay of the games category.

Two new titles made their debuts on the U.S. top downloads chart for last month: Geometry Dash Meltdown, a sequel to RobTop Games' popular 2013 release Geometry Dash, and Rayman Adventures, the latest mobile installment in Ubisoft's successful character-driven series. Both titles are free-to-play, as is relative App Store newcomer Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, which also made its debut on the U.S. top downloads chart last month, climbing 21 positions over its November ranking to come in at No. 6 overall.

The worldwide download charts played out similarly, with Piano Tiles 2 seizing the top spot there as well, and the classic trio of Cut the Rope 2, Monument Valley, and Temple Run 2 also ranking in the top 10. Rayman Adventures fared better than in the U.S., ranking second overall worldwide.

Tencent made a splash on the global stage with the Chinese debut of CrossFire: King Shootout, a mobile version of its extremely popular PC first-person shooter, CrossFire. And while not a new title, it's worth noting that Clash of Clans made the worldwide downloads top 10 last month with a month-over-month increase in downloads of approximately 670,000 over November.

Top Revenue: Clash of Clans Retakes Its Throne from Game of War

{% columns %}

{% figure class: 'half standard' %}

{% endfigure %}

{% figure class: 'half standard' %}

{% endfigure %}

{% endcolumns %}

Click the charts above to view larger versions.

The biggest news on the revenue front last month was yet another position swap at No. 1 between Clash of Clans and Game of War, both in the U.S. and worldwide. Supercell's strategy title had been outgrossed by Machine Zone's for the past two months—taking the top grossing game crown for the first time in October—but recaptured the top spot last month.

Electronic Arts and Kabam both had titles which saw their rankings improve over November on the U.S. revenue chart: Madden NFL Mobile and Marvel Contest of Champions, respectively. The former moved up three places to No. 2 in the U.S., while the latter improved its position by two to No. 8. Madden repeated its fancy footwork on the worldwide revenue chart, cracking into the top 10 by climbing three spots over November.

GungHo Online Entertainment saw the second-largest MoM ranking increase on the worldwide revenue chart with its unendingly popular puzzle title Puzzle & Dragons, which climbed two spots to No. 5.

Join Us Next Month for King's Latest Candy Crush Creation and More

Early January witnessed the launch of King's latest Candy Crush spin-off, Candy Crush Jelly Saga, which has been holding steady atop the iPhone and iPad free apps rankings for all categories since mere hours following its release. Should its momentum hold up, this title has the potential to place at or near the top of the January downloads ranking, so we're monitoring its performance closely—and we'll be back in less than 30 days to report on how it fared.

In the meantime, let us know what you think of these reports by tweeting @SensorTower or emailing randy@sensortower.com.