[DigitalToday reporter Hojeong Lee] South Korea’s mobile game market entered a mature phase as revenue continued to grow in the second half of last year despite a drop in downloads. Nexon, in particular, took the top spot in publisher revenue for the first time.

Sensor Tower said on Wednesday revenue in South Korea’s mobile game market in the second half of 2025 totalled about $2.8 billion, or about 3.9 trillion won. That was up 8.3 percent from the first half, showing a gradual recovery trend.

Downloads during the same period totalled about 210 million, down 21 percent from a year earlier. New user inflows slowed, but revenue held steady, indicating the market has become more solid. By platform, Android’s revenue contribution was 75 percent, expanding its influence.

By title, Lineage M firmly held on to the top revenue spot. In July, reflecting its eighth anniversary event, it also logged its highest monthly revenue in about 2-1/2 years.

Century Games’ Whiteout Survival took second place. The game posted monthly revenue of about $43 million in August, setting a record high. As South Korea’s contribution expanded sharply, it narrowed the gap with the United States, its largest market, to $350,000.

New releases also stood out. Netmarble’s Vampir ranked fourth in revenue after its August launch, and Nexon’s Maple Raising placed sixth, highlighting the strength of idle RPGs.

In publisher rankings, Nexon rose to No. 1 for the first time. It followed the first-half success of Mabinogi Mobile with another hit in Maple Raising in the second half. Century Games ranked second on the joint success of Whiteout Survival and new title Kingshot, while Netmarble moved up to third.

A Sensor Tower official analysed the second half of the South Korean market by saying, "Despite a slowdown in inflows, operational performance of long-running live service games and successful settling-in of new releases led the revenue recovery," and added, "Stronger live operations for existing popular titles contributed significantly to revenue expansion."