What Inwave Studio does

Inwave Studio is a Hanoi, Vietnam-based mobile game developer founded in 2014, operating under the legal name INSGAME TECHNOLOGY JOINT STOCK COMPANY with a separate Singapore-registered entity (Inwave. Ltd.). The company develops and operates a portfolio of 15+ mobile games spanning music rhythm, casual, puzzle, roguelike, ASMR, and tycoon genres, with cumulative downloads exceeding 1 billion globally as of 2024. Flagship titles Tiles Hop: EDM Rush! (350M+ downloads, 5M+ Daily Active Users, published with Amanotes) and Dancing Road: Color Ball Run (100M+ downloads, 1M+ Daily Active Users, featuring licensed K-pop music from BigBang, BLACKPINK, and iKON) represent the bulk of user engagement. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Dung Nguyen.

Inwave's games are built on Unity and Cocos Creator engines for 2D and 3D mobile experiences distributed via Google Play and the Apple App Store. The company has invested in AI-driven production tooling, including Stable Diffusion, Flux, and Midjourney for game asset generation (Concept Art, Characters, Backgrounds, UI) combined with ComfyUI workflows, LoRA training, and ControlNet/IP-Adapter techniques. Operational automation is supported by GPT and Llama-based RAG systems with Pinecone and Milvus vector databases, and n8n workflow orchestration. These capabilities enable a relatively small team (11-50 employees) to maintain a 15-title portfolio.

The business operates a free-to-play model monetized entirely through in-game advertising, with revenue distributed across 25+ ad networks including Google AdMob, AppLovin, Unity Ads, IronSource, AdColony, Facebook Ads, and TikTok Ads. User acquisition is driven by paid campaigns across Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Apple Search Ads, AppLovin, and TikTok Ads. No revenue, funding, or institutional ownership data is publicly disclosed, and the company is privately held. Key recognition includes Google Editor's Choice badges for both Tiles Hop and Dancing Road (February 2019) and a #8 global ranking among most downloaded mobile games in 2020 for Tiles Hop (the only Vietnamese-developed title in the global top 10 that year, per Apptopia).

Name

Inwave Studio

Legal name

INWAVE STUDIO – Công ty cổ phần công nghệ INSGAME

Website

https://inwave.vn

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Inwave Studio is a Hanoi-based mobile game developer operating 15+ music, casual, and puzzle titles with 1B+ cumulative downloads globally, led by CEO Dung Nguyen and monetized via in-game advertising across 25+ ad networks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Gaming

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Mobile Game Publishing & App Game Stores (BPAMAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Game Distribution Platforms & Storefronts (PC/Mobile/Console) (MPAFABAB)

Keywords

• Mobile game development
• Music rhythm games
• Casual mobile gaming
• Free-to-play games
• Mobile app development

Headquarters

HQ city

Hanoi

HQ country

Vietnam

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. In-game Advertising: Free-to-play mobile games monetized through in-game advertisements including display ads, video ads, and native advertising from multiple ad network partners.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Inwave Studio develops and publishes free-to-play mobile music rhythm and casual games such as Tiles Hop: EDM Rush! and Dancing Road: Color Ball Run, distributed globally via Google Play and the Apple App Store with over 450M+ combined downloads. The company monetizes these games primarily through in-game advertising from multiple ad network partners, while also producing HTML5 social games and other mobile applications.

Product overview

Inwave Studio is a Vietnam-based mobile game developer specializing in music rhythm games and casual gaming experiences. The company operates a portfolio of 15+ game titles across multiple genres including Music, Hybrid, Casual, Puzzle, and Roguelike categories. The core products include flagship music games like Tiles Hop: EDM Rush! and Dancing Road: Color Ball Run, which have achieved over 450 million combined downloads globally. The portfolio has expanded to include party games, puzzle games, tycoon simulations, and ASMR-themed titles. The company also develops HTML5 games for social platforms and mobile applications. The company was founded in 2014 and has achieved over 1 billion total downloads worldwide, with two games receiving Google Editor's Choice recognition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tiles Hop: EDM Rush! A music rhythm mobile game where players tap tiles in sync with music beats from genres including Piano, Guitar, Rock, and EDM, featuring nearly 100 popular world songs. For global mobile gamers on Android and iOS.
• Dancing Road: Color Ball Run

Quantifiable outcome

• Tiles Hop reached 350M+ downloads and 5M+ Daily Active Users
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration32 records

AI capability6 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AmanotescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublisher partner for Tiles Hop: EDM Rush! game. Amanotes is the publisher while Inwave Studio is the developer. This partnership enabled the game to reach 350M+ downloads globally.
• GooglecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple partnerships: Google Play distribution platform, Google Editor's Choice program (receiving badge for games), and Google Apps Development Lab 2023 training program for 4 months with over 25 experts.
• ApplecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorApple App Store distribution for iOS games including Tiles Hop and Dancing Road.
• Facebook Ads ManagerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAdvertising platform for user acquisition campaigns and marketing.
• TikTok AdsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAdvertising platform for user acquisition and marketing campaigns.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Voodoo: Paris-based global leader in hyper-casual mobile gaming with billions of downloads across a portfolio of casual titles. Comparable business model (ad-monetized, free-to-play, portfolio approach) at much larger scale.
• Amanotes: Vietnam-based mobile music game publisher and Inwave's publisher partner for Tiles Hop and Dancing Road. Directly comparable as a music-rhythm mobile game specialist with a global download footprint.
• SayGames: Belarus-based mobile game publisher focused on hyper-casual and casual titles with strong UA infrastructure. Directly comparable business model and target audience.
• CrazyLabs: Israel-based mobile game developer and publisher of hyper-casual games with billions of downloads. Comparable in portfolio-driven, ad-funded casual mobile gaming strategy.
• Ketchapp: Paris-based mobile game studio/publisher known for hyper-casual hits. Comparable in casual/hyper-casual mobile game publishing and ad-driven business model.
• Outfit7: Slovenia-based mobile game studio behind Talking Tom and other casual IP with multi-billion download footprint. Comparable as a casual mobile studio monetizing via ads/IAP at global scale.

Broad incumbents

• AppLovin: Global mobile ad-tech and gaming platform with both publisher and developer arms. Comparable as a strategic partner/competitor in the mobile gaming monetization stack Inwave operates within.
• Garena (Sea Limited): Singapore-headquartered global gaming and e-commerce platform publishing Free Fire and other mobile titles. Comparable as a Southeast Asia-based mobile game publisher with ad and IAP monetization.

Emerging players

• Dream Games: Mobile game studio behind Royal Match, one of the highest-grossing puzzle games globally. Comparable as a Turkish-origin casual mobile studio scaling into adjacent genres with strong DAU economics.

Regional players

• VNG Corporation: Vietnamese technology conglomerate with a major mobile gaming arm (Zing) and global ambitions. Comparable as a Vietnamese-headquartered gaming operator, though at much larger scale and broader product portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@inwave.studio
• Facebookfacebook.com/inwave.vn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/inwave-studio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Inwave Studio