KEN’S CAT LOG
▤Daily Google Play Report

Daily Google Play Report 2026-09-08

Tap Tile! debuted in android-game/free across three countries on the same day—JP #36, KR #41, and GB #45—and also rose in the previously charted markets of DE #22 (+10) and HR #22 (+12): today's broadest new signal. Meanwhile, the top tier remained largely unchanged at 93% held, with turnover concentrated at the bottom (14% new).

1. New Entrants

There were 20 simultaneous multi-country debuts. Leading the way was Tap Tile! (android-game/free, JP #36, KR #41, GB #45), which also climbed in DE #22 (+10) and HR #22 (+12), where it had already charted—indicating broad-based momentum rather than a one-off spike. It was followed by Video Maker (GB #41, HR #41, US #42), Slow Mo Strike (GB #32, JP #41), Whiteout Survival (KR #39, US #41), and Toca Boca World (DE #40, US #43). In individual markets, Pickup Truck Simulator entered directly at #1 and Grab at #4 in HR's android-travel-and-local/free, while Curry-IQ entered at #1 in US paid android-food-and-drink.

2. Sharp Gains in the Monthly Comparison

The reference date is 2026-08-26, only 13 days ago, so this is not yet a full month of data. The largest gains were Splitwise #5 (+38) and TradingView #1 (+36) in HR/android-finance/grossing, Pixel Tamerz #5 (+38) and Berriz #9 (+30) in KR, and Smash Land! #12 (+30) in the US. Fifteen titles that were absent on the reference date entered the top 20 this time, led by PhonePe #1 and Paytm #3 in HR, and Clash of Critters #1 in KR.

3. By Tier

top (1–10) was effectively fixed at held 93% / new 1% / |Δ| 0.6. mid (11–30) was 88% / 1% / 2. Only bottom (31–45) showed meaningful churn, at held 79%, new 14%, and |Δ| 2.8, meaning almost all of today's turnover occurred near the tail end. Aggregate data for developers occupying the top positions was not produced (shown as “—”), so this dataset cannot determine whether the market is concentrated.

4. By Country

JP was the quietest market (top-10 held 96%, 82 new entries), followed by KR at 95%/101. By contrast, HR had the most new entries at 183, followed by US at 168, GB at 120, and DE at 111. Shared hits included Canva at #1 in all six countries, WhatsApp at #1 in communication across four countries, and LinkedIn in the business/grossing top 10 across all six countries.

5. By Category

The most active categories were android-game (89 new entries, top-10 held 82%), android-tools (47, 86%), android-travel-and-local (43, 87%), and android-dating (31, with the lowest held rate at 80%). The most static were android-communication (100%), art-and-design, auto-and-vehicles, and libraries-and-demo (98%).

Key Findings

1. Tap Tile! debuts in three countries on the same day and rises in two already-charted markets — today's strongest cross-market signal

It newly entered android-game/free on the same day at JP #36, KR #41, and GB #45. It also rose from the prior reading in markets where it was already charting: DE #22 (+10) and HR #22 (+12). This means simultaneous upward momentum across five markets. It should be the highest-priority title to track as an early sign of a new wave in tile-based casual games.

Confidence: High

2. Video Maker is the second three-country same-day debut (GB #41, HR #41, US #42), representing video editing outside games

It entered android-video-players/free simultaneously at GB #41, HR #41, and US #42. This was the only non-game title to enter in three countries at once, pointing to movement in Western video-editing utility demand. The category also has relatively high turnover, with 36 new entries.

Confidence: High

3. Four games debut simultaneously in two countries — Slow Mo Strike, Whiteout Survival, Toca Boca World, and Match Factory!

Slow Mo Strike entered at GB #32 and JP #41; Whiteout Survival at KR #39 and US #41; Toca Boca World at DE #40 and US #43 (and also GB #31/+13); and Match Factory! at GB #41 and US #45. All appeared in the bottom tier, but same-day multi-country entries should be treated as stronger signals than appearances on a single chart.

Confidence: High

4. HR is today's epicenter — 183 new entries, with Pickup Truck Simulator entering directly at #1 in travel-and-local/free

HR recorded the most new entries among the six markets, at 183 (top-10 held 91%). In android-travel-and-local/free, Pickup Truck Simulator Game 3D debuted at #1, followed by Grab at #4, AbhiBus at #7, and redBus at #8, placing a cluster of India-focused transport and booking apps directly near the top. Nationally, the category also showed substantial turnover, with 43 new entries and top-10 held at 87%.

Confidence: High

5. A large influx of paid utilities into HR's android-tools/grossing chart (though the chart is degraded)

Level plus #5, SmoothTrack #6, Automatic Call Recorder PRO #7, and Ear Booster Pro #8 all appeared on the same day, while Call Recorder - Cube ACR rose to #4 (+40), one of today's largest gains. However, HR/android-tools/TOP_GROSSING is among the degraded sources, so some of this turnover may result from collection gaps. android-tools overall also had 47 new entries and top-10 held at 86%.

Confidence: Medium

6. The largest gains versus 13 days ago (2026-08-26) were HR finance apps — Splitwise #5 (+38) and TradingView #1 (+36)

Note that the reference date, 2026-08-26, was only 13 days ago and is not long enough to be considered a monthly comparison. In HR/android-finance, Splitwise rose +38 and TradingView +36 in grossing, with Kraken #7 (+22) also advancing. On the free side, PhonePe #1 and Paytm #3 were absent on the reference date, while Finanzguru #2 and Investing.com #3 in grossing were also new faces. However, HR/android-finance/TOP_GROSSING is degraded, so grossing rank changes should be interpreted with caution.

Confidence: Medium

7. Turnover is concentrated at the bottom — bottom: 14% new and |Δ| 2.8; top: 1% new and |Δ| 0.6

top (1–10, 3,961 slots) was nearly fixed, with 93% held, 1% new, and an average movement of 0.6 positions. mid (11–30, 7,123 slots) was 88% held with |Δ| 2. Only bottom (31–45, 5,068 slots) showed meaningful movement: 79% held, 14% new, and |Δ| 2.8. For new titles, the competitive battleground is below rank 31; whether they break into mid should be the key metric over subsequent days. Developer concentration cannot be assessed because the relevant aggregate was not output.

Confidence: High

8. JP was the quietest of the six markets (top-10 held 96%, 82 new entries) — only eFootball™ #19 (+21) and two Rakuten TV listings moved

JP had the fewest new entries at 82, while the top was largely immobile with top-10 held at 96%. Compared with the prior reading, eFootball™ reached grossing #19 (+21). Versus 13 days ago, ClevCalc #12 (+27), HotShort #8 (+26), Rakuten TV #14 (+24), and its former-name listing #21 (+22) all rose at the same time, suggesting localized momentum only around video streaming.

Confidence: High

9. Established top-10 titles across all six countries: Canva (all markets #1), LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and GoodNovel

Canva was #1 in art-and-design/free across DE, GB, HR, JP, KR, and US. LinkedIn was in the business/grossing top 10 in all six countries (#1 in five), WhatsApp was #1 in communication/free in four countries, and GoodNovel was in the books-and-reference/grossing top 10 in all six. These positions are unlikely to open up soon, making them low-priority entry targets.

Confidence: High

10. Short dramas continue to command broad market coverage — ReelShort #1 in four countries, DramaWave #1 in KR, GoodShort GB #15 (+25)

In entertainment/free, ReelShort was #1 in DE, GB, HR, and US, while DramaWave was #1 in KR and #2 in GB, splitting the top positions between the two. Compared with 13 days ago, GoodShort reached GB #15 (+25) and HotShort JP #8 (+26), showing that later entrants are also rising. The category's top-10 held rate is 87%, looser than the overall average, leaving room for new entrants.

Confidence: High

11. AI language-learning apps are rising simultaneously across four markets — Fluzy HR #7 (+23), LingQuiz KR #16 (+23), Linguza HR #4 (absent on the reference date)

AI tutor-style apps are gaining ground side by side in education/free. Versus 13 days ago, Fluzy reached HR #7 (+23) and LingQuiz KR #16 (+23); versus the prior reading, Pingo AI reached US #30 (+7), Engla US #31 (+7), and AI Learning HR #32 (+7). Linguza was absent on the reference date and is now HR #4. While Duolingo occupies the top 10 in all six countries, a dense layer of AI-focused apps is beginning to form in the lower ranks.

Confidence: High

12. Paid charts moved in the US — Tiny Terraces #3 (+25), Afterplace #16 (+27), and Curry-IQ debuted at #1 in paid food-and-drink

In US/android-game/TOP_PAID, gains versus 13 days ago were concentrated in Tiny Terraces #3 (+25), Slots & Daggers #6 (+21), and Afterplace #16 (+27). In addition, Curry-IQ newly entered US/android-food-and-drink/TOP_PAID at #1. With 168 new entries and top-10 held at 92%, the US has short-term turnover potential not only in free charts but also in paid ones.

Confidence: High

13. android-dating has the lowest category-level top-10 held rate at 80%, with two same-day two-country debuts

With 31 new entries and top-10 held at 80%, it was the category with the most turnover near the top. FilipinoCupid (GB #41, US #42) and Slip (US #41, GB #42) each debuted in two countries on the same day, while GB saw Azizam #28 (+10), GoFling #30 (+10), and FabGuys #31 (+10) rise together. In contrast, android-communication was completely static, with top-10 held at 100%.

Confidence: High

14. KR was led by Pixel Tamerz #5 (+38) and Berriz #9 (+30), while two Supercell titles recovered in DE grossing

Despite a stable top-10 held rate of 95%, KR saw Pixel Tamerz reach game/free #5 (+38), Berriz social/free #9 (+30), and Gmarket #13 (+25) versus 13 days ago. In DE, Clash of Clans #18 (+23) and Brawl Stars #15 (+22) both recovered in grossing, worth monitoring as seasonal movement on the monetization side for established major titles.

Confidence: Medium

Recommended Actions

  • Designate Tap Tile! (com.nebula.tiles) as the highest-priority tracking target. It newly entered in JP #36, KR #41, and GB #45 and moved simultaneously across five markets when including DE #22 (+10) and HR #22 (+12). Tomorrow's collection should use only one decision criterion: whether it breaks out of the bottom tier into mid (from rank 31 or lower into the top 30).
  • Develop one tile/merge-style casual game concept. Alongside Tap Tile!, similar titles are rising: Double Tile! (#31, +13) and Pocket Sort (#28, +11) in DE, and Pixel Flow! (#23, +22) in GB. android-game has 89 new entries and top-10 held at 82%, offering the largest room for entry.
  • For short dramas, target downstream momentum rather than replacing leaders. ReelShort is #1 in four countries and DramaWave is #1 in KR, so the very top is firm; however, GoodShort GB #15 (+25) and HotShort JP #8 (+26) show that ranks 10–20 are still moving. Make JP and GB the first choices for acquisition spend.
  • AI language learning is thickening simultaneously in US, HR, and KR (Fluzy HR #7, LingQuiz KR #16, Linguza HR #4, Pingo AI/Engla US #30-31). Rather than competing head-on with Duolingo, enter lower-competition markets such as HR with specialized offerings focused on pronunciation or conversation practice.
  • Create a standalone monitoring track for the HR market. It had the most new entries among the six markets at 183, with top-level turnover such as Pickup Truck Simulator #1 and Grab #4 in travel-and-local/free, so it may surface signals earlier than other markets.
  • Prioritize re-fetch retries for HR/android-tools/TOP_GROSSING, HR/android-finance/TOP_GROSSING, and TOP_GROSSING groups in DE and GB. Without these retries, it is impossible to determine whether today's large grossing rank differences (such as Call Recorder +40 and Splitwise +38) reflect real market movement or collection gaps.
  • Investigate the ingestion path where developer and ratingCount are missing in 97,951 records. Developer-level share analysis—such as how many top-10 slots a single publisher occupies—cannot be performed at all today, cutting the value of the tiered report roughly in half.
  • Expand the reference-date archive. The oldest current date is 2026-08-26, leaving only 13 days of data, so the “monthly” section is effectively a short-term comparison of less than two weeks. Until 30 days have accumulated, label the section explicitly as a short-term comparison.

Data Quality Notes

The target date, 2026-09-08, contains 438 charts / 16,152 rows. Of the 471 charts in the collection scope (excluding 159 sources not yet published from the configured schedule), 33 charts were not collected; 6 recent runs completed partially, and 32 fetches failed. Of the 438 charts, 419 could be compared with 2026-09-07. The remaining 19 had no prior collection and are treated as having “no movement and no new entries” (do not interpret an inability to compare as a new entry). More than 100 sources were marked degraded, concentrated especially in TOP_GROSSING for DE and GB (including DE game/tools/shopping/medical and 18 others; GB game/tools/photography/productivity and many others), broadly across HR TOP_GROSSING (tools, finance, travel-and-local, communication, and 21 others), KR game/music/lifestyle GROSSING and PAID, and JP game/shopping/sports GROSSING and PAID. Accordingly, grossing-related new entries and rank differences in this report—particularly HR/android-tools/TOP_GROSSING, HR/android-finance/TOP_GROSSING, and DE/android-medical/TOP_GROSSING—may reflect collection gaps rather than actual market changes. On the attribute side, developer is missing in 97,951 records, ratingCount in 97,951, and rating in 6,203. Because developer names are blank across all charts, today's data cannot determine whether specific developers occupy top positions (the developers column in the tier table is also “—”). The monthly-comparison reference date, 2026-08-26, is the oldest archived collection date and only 13 days before the target date. It is not a month of trend data, so read “monthly gains” as short-term movement over less than two weeks.