Top 10 Puzzle Subgenres in 2025

Welcome to our new series where we break down big genres to spotlight rising subgenres and standout games developers should keep an eye on 😉

We’re kicking off with Puzzle — one of the loudest genres lately. So far in 2025, it has generated $4B in IAP revenue, growing 15% year-on-year (YoY) 🚀

Match-3 remains the dominant subgenre, bringing in 58% of Puzzle revenue, up 9% YoY. It’s driven by well-known Royal Match and Candy Crush 👑

Merge follows with 18% of Puzzle revenue, showing impressive 64% YoY growth. The subgenre thrives on Merge-2 titles with complex meta layers like Gossip Harbor, Travel Town, and Seaside Escape 🔥

Two smaller subgenres worth watching due to their fast growth are Block Puzzle (12x YoY) and Sort Puzzle (1.2x YoY). Block Puzzle’s rise is largely driven by Block Blast!, while the Sort Puzzle space is more diverse, with titles like Goods Puzzle: Sort Challenge and Magic Sort! gaining traction 🔎

Puzzle games are rich in innovation, especially in LiveOps. For example, right now market leaders are actively launching summer events.

🏝️ Learn more detail in our recent article