+7
ASSOCIATED ENTERTAINMENT RELEASING
For casual mobile gamers seeking short, satisfying sessions with tactile feedback, including fans of idle progression and creative digital styling.
Known forHamster Maze
For casual mobile gamers seeking short, satisfying sessions with tactile feedback, including fans of idle progression and creative digital styling.
Providing casual gamers with satisfying, tactile mobile experiences through a mix of hyper-casual mechanics and polished simulation loops.
Target audience
Portfolio
Free 10Last updated
Hamster Maze
v1.4.4
6mo ago
Primary focus
Mobile games · hyper-casual and simulation niche
Scale
studio
Target audience
Casual mobile gamers seeking short, satisfying sessions with tactile feedback, including fans of idle progression and creative digital styling.
Origin
Operates under the ZPLAY brand with a focus on both global publishing and the Chinese market.
Maintained an active development cycle with 9 releases across their 10-app portfolio in the last 6 months, including a major update within the last 4 days.
10 apps analysed
Offline-capable core loop supports consistent play during travel
2
Positive apps
2
Neutral / mixed
1
Negative apps
58/100
Avg sentiment score
This is the most direct thematic competitor, focusing on hamster care and interaction rather than just maze navigation.
This app dominates the casual DIY/ASMR simulation space with a massive user base and high-fidelity interactive mechanics that directly compete for the same 'relaxing creative' audience.
Strategic outlook coming soon.
What fed this analysis
High-velocity updates and a proven, long-term platformer loop make this a direct threat to user retention.
This is the market leader in the idle mining niche, maintaining a massive, highly active user base and a relentless update cadence that defines the genre standard.
Shares the exact same idle-tycoon mechanics and monetization structure, despite the shift from mining to forestry.
Directly competes for the 'cute virtual pet' audience with a similar focus on interaction and visual appeal.
Directly competes in the mining niche by adding sci-fi narrative elements and crafting systems to the idle experience.
Shares the core 'physics-based survival' mechanic while offering a more atmospheric and polished aesthetic.
Directly competes for the 'antistress' casual demographic by prioritizing sensory-focused gameplay loops over creative expression.
Captures the same 'relaxing' audience through organizational puzzles, representing a major shift in how casual players define satisfaction.
Dominates the 'endless runner' space with a premium-feel, zen-like experience that captures the same casual audience.
Competes for the casual pet-care audience by leveraging a specific, event-based theme to drive engagement and retention.
A strong alternative in the 'creative painting' casual sub-genre that utilizes a more competitive, level-based progression system.
Competes for the same casual pet-loving demographic by shifting the focus from obstacle courses to merge-based sanctuary management.
Directly competes for the 'physics-based arcade' player who enjoys simple, one-tap control schemes.
Shares the casual category but pivots to merge-mechanics, serving as a secondary option for the same user demographic.
Competes for the 'cute animal' enthusiast demographic through idle management and gacha-style collection.
A benchmark for the idle tycoon genre, showing how to scale a single-location game into a massive empire.
A high-frequency arcade game that targets the same 'tap-to-react' audience as our hero mechanics.
Targets the casual animal-collection market using idle mechanics instead of active obstacle navigation.
Provides a collection of mini-games that target the same 'antistress' intent as the target app.
A high-production-value runner that sets the standard for licensed IP integration in the casual gaming space.
Leverages deep OS-level integration and cross-platform search to aggregate content across fragmented streaming services.
A massive, iconic arcade title that competes for the same casual 'quick-session' player attention.
Acts as the industry standard for metadata and discovery, creating a high barrier to entry for content-focused apps.
Shares the casual pet-interaction space but focuses on voice-responsive 3D character animation.
Targets the same casual pet-loving audience by focusing on relaxation and incremental island expansion.
Dominates the casual runner genre with high-velocity updates and established IP, serving as a benchmark for obstacle-based games.
Dominates the free ad-supported streaming space with a massive library that dwarfs the target's niche content.
Successfully captured a specific, highly engaged demographic through community-driven localization features.
A legacy virtual pet title that serves as the baseline for the genre's retention mechanics and simplicity.
Shares the 'cute animal' aesthetic and casual simulation appeal, though the core loop is management-based.
Emerging as a threat in the 'run and collect' sub-genre with a focus on rapid-growth mechanics.
Recent release activity and a focus on superhero-themed movement mechanics indicate a rising niche competitor.
A new entrant in the casual pet-interaction space that uses reaction-based mechanics to challenge players.
Demonstrates strong market entry with 14 updates in six months, signaling a focus on rapid feature iteration.
A recent entrant that combines casual physics with satisfying destruction, appealing to the same 'relaxing' user intent.
Combines feline collection with puzzle-solving, targeting the same casual audience with a different core mechanic.
A recent entrant that leverages a highly successful, aesthetic-focused franchise to capture the casual pet-loving demographic.
Rapidly scaling through a high-frequency release cadence and a focus on the emerging short-form drama market.
Aggressive release velocity with four updates in the last six months signals a rapid attempt to capture the casual antistress market.
Shows high velocity in releases and a similar 'active-idle' hybrid approach that is currently trending in the market.
