🎮 What is GameDNA?
GameDNA organizes mobile games into detailed gameplay-based categories. Instead of broad labels like “Action” or “Puzzle,” GameDNA drills down into what players actually do in a game, whether it’s Shooting, Arcade Racing, or Battle Royale
This lets you explore the mobile gaming landscape with far more granularity and relevance.
For example:
Candy Crush Saga is classified as “Match 3,” describing its core mechanic of moving items to create a combination of at least 3 items to make them explode.
The Sunburst chart displays “Match 3,” a subcategory of “Match.”
The gameplay category Match just like Action for action games are those games that involve combining, connecting, or interacting with similar items to clear them from the board or progress through levels. This includes mechanics like tapping, linking, merging, or aligning items, either in 2D or 3D environments.
🔮 Why is this helpful?
App Store and Google Play categories are often too broad or inconsistent. GameDNA:
Offers more meaningful comparisons between games
Helps identify top-performing games by gameplay type
Powers advanced market and competitor insights
Whether you're a developer, marketer, or analyst, GameDNA gives you a clearer understanding of how games are positioned and performing.
🧬 Explore the GameDNA Taxonomy
Games are first grouped under broad gameplay types like Action, Puzzle, Strategy, etc., and then broken down into specific gameplays.
Here are a few examples:
Gameplay Class | Gameplays |
Action | Battle Royale, Shoot 'Em Up, Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, etc. |
Board & Card Games | Board Games, Chess & Checkers, Mahjong, Multiplayer Card Games, etc. |
Driving & Racing | Arcade Racing, Racing Simulator, Vehicle Simulation, etc. |
Puzzle | Logic Puzzle, Block Puzzle, etc. |
Shooting | First/Third-Person, Sniper, Hunting, etc. |
🔍 How to Filter by GameDNA
You can easily search or filter by gameplay:
Use the dropdown in Top Charts or Market Intelligence
Enter a keyword or select from the structured taxonomy
Each gameplay also has a short, clear definition when you hover your cusor.
For example:
Battle Royale: Multiplayer, can involve shooting. Main goal is to be the last survivor.
Runner: Autoscroll gameplay where the player avoids obstacles or collects items while running.
📈 Where to discover GameDNA in AppTweak
You can explore GameDNA powered insights across different sections on the platform mainly the following:
1. App header & competitor tags
Every game with a GameDNA will display its gameplay in the app’s header.
➡️ Hover over the DNA tag to see its definition
2. Keyword Research
Explore a range of more relevant keyword suggestions to increase your game’s visibility and downloads tied to your app’s gameplay category
➡️ Navigate to Keyword Research → Keyword Suggestions → DNA tab
3. Top Charts
See top-ranked apps in any GameDNA gameplay.
➡️ Navigate to Store Explorer → Top Charts → GameDNA tab
4. Market Intelligence
Analyze market trends at the gameplay level across countries, devices, and other filters.
➡️ Navigate to Market Intelligence → Top Apps → Split by DNA
📜 Summary
GameDNA helps you understand the mobile gaming market based on how games actually play, not just how they're labeled. This classification powers smarter decisions in ASO, competitive research, market intelligence, and more.
Whether you're hunting for market trends or analyzing a specific title, GameDNA gives you the taxonomy you need to go deeper.