Pixel Flow is a sort puzzle game by Loom Games, released in August 2025, and it has already scaled to $500K+ in daily IAP revenue, according to AppMagic.
Let’s break down the design decisions behind this fast-rising sort puzzler.
Smart Twist
The game builds on ‘This is Blast’ by Voodoo by introducing a moving conveyor belt. This single change adds a layer of dexterity and timing pressure into an otherwise a static, strategic puzzle experience. Skilled players are rewarded here for quick reactions, swapping shooter pigs between bench and belt to avoid exceeding bench capacity fail states. And this results a system that adds mastery without bloating complexity.
Smooth Progression
Following a simple FTUE, the game presents deterministic puzzles that reward players who learn and adapt. Hard level labeling on the level map help set expectations, while sped-up movements when victory is guaranteed improve the overall player experience. Boosters and new mechanics are introduced progressively: surprised pig and connected pigs mechanics appear early, while hard pixels, locks and keys, and gates are added later. Additionally, the game starts LiveOps at level 35 with the Pixel Pass, featuring free and paid tiers, followed by the Fire Quest at level 71 to keep players engaged and reward progression.
Hybrid Monetization
The game leverages both IAAs and IAPs to monetize players. Interstitial ads begin appearing after level 19, while RV ads tied to level completion start at level 10. Additional RV placements are limited to life refills, keeping ad exposure relatively controlled. On the IAP side, the game features an in-game shop with a variety of offers and bundles designed to cater to different spending behaviors, alongside a no-ads offer and loss aversion techniques. Additionally, booster unlocking and revives are gated by soft currency, subtly encouraging IAP purchases.
Genre Insights: Sort Puzzle
Pixel Flow currently leads the sort puzzle genre, generating $12M+ in monthly IAP revenue. To put that into perspective, out of 4000+ sort-puzzlers released, only 12 have managed to surpass the $1M/month IAP revenue benchmark in last three months, implying a success rate of roughly 0.3%.
Looking at releases from the last 12 months, only 4 titles have crossed this threshold. Most notably, two of them are sorting shooters (Pixel Flow and Color Cube Breaker) and 3 of them feature conveyor-belt mechanics, making conveyor-driven gameplay a pattern worth watching in this sub-genre.
What do you think of Pixel Flow’s design? Share your thoughts down below.
Original Post: Kavindu Priyanath-LinkedIn
