Netflix Game Controller retook #1, ending ChatGPT's four-day reign

The TV-party controller app jumped to #1 overnight to end ChatGPT's four-day reign, microdrama app DramaBox rocketed 37 spots to #3, ChatGPT slid to #3 with Gemini and Claude holding the #8-9 floor, hololive Dreams hit #1 on Japan's Google Play grossing chart while dropping out of the US free-games top 25, and Apple's Epic stay ruling stayed pending into a second week.

Netflix Game Controller jumped to #1 overnight, ending ChatGPT's four-day reign

Netflix Game Controller rose from #4 to #1 on Apple's US free apps chart this morning (App Chart Archive, Apple's live chart), retaking the top it last held July 17 to 19. TikTok Pro Events slipped #1 to #2 and ChatGPT slid #2 to #3.

The app is an accessory, not a game: scan a QR code on your TV and your phone becomes the controller for Netflix party games like Overcooked, Pictionary, LEGO Party, and Boggle Party, with the games bundled into a Netflix subscription and no separate fee (Netflix). It first hit #1 on April 5, with no paid marketing detected by Sensor Tower (Game File).

The #1 has churned through three apps since the World Cup final: ChatGPT (July 21 to 24 mornings), TikTok Pro Events (overnight July 24 to 25), and now Netflix Game Controller. The "AI floor is the chart surface" equilibrium that set in once the World Cup apps drained has cracked, as the controller app and a microdrama app pushed back into the top.

Microdrama app DramaBox rocketed 37 spots to #3, a new overall-chart high

DramaBox, a live-action microdrama app from Singapore's STORYMATRIX, jumped 37 spots to #3 on the US free apps chart on Saturday before slipping to #4 this morning (App Chart Archive, Apple's live chart). Its previous best was #5 on the Entertainment category chart in June (Ember Picks), so this is its first time in the overall top 3.

DramaBox is among the top-grossing microdrama apps globally, near $140M in Q1 2026 in-app revenue (Sensor Tower). The category runs on paid acquisition: more than 700 companies advertise short-drama apps every month, and ad creatives per advertiser were up 145% year-on-year (Adjust via Marketing Interactive).

The surge fits a paid-UA re-inflation. Apptopia's July report had DramaBox losing daily-active share, from 27% to 19%, to Kunlun-backed DramaReels through the first half even as it held the revenue lead, so a late-July install push is the obvious lever (Apptopia).

ChatGPT slid to #3 as the AI cohort lost the top; Grok crept to #41

ChatGPT fell to #3, a two-day drop from the #1 it held July 21 to 24. Google Gemini held #8 and Claude #9 (App Chart Archive, Apple's live chart); three AI assistants remain in the top 10, but none has held #1 since July 24, when TikTok Pro Events and then Netflix Game Controller took over the top.

Grok crept up to #41 from #47 on Thursday, still 16 spots below the top 25, despite the Grok 4.5 consumer rollout landing July 22 across iOS, Android, web, and X (x.ai). Meta AI held #29.

The mechanic is the post-iOS-27 ranking algorithm, which now weights retention and engagement over download volume (AppDrift), so a flagship-model bump alone has not converted to free-chart velocity.

hololive Dreams hit #1 on Japan's Google Play grossing chart while dropping out of the US free-games top 25

hololive Dreams reached #1 on Japan's Google Play grossing chart and #2 on the App Store grossing chart (gamebiz, gamebiz), overtaking NIKKE, which had just retaken #1 Google Play grossing July 24 with its PROJECT MATIS update (gamebiz).

The US free-games chart tells the opposite story: the game dropped out of the top 25, from #17 on launch day July 23, behind the Istanbul hypercasual-puzzle wall of Block Out, Meowdoku, Smash Fest, and Magic Sort (Apple's live chart, MSY Games).

The grossing-versus-free split is the chart-mechanics lesson: the US free chart rewards paid-UA puzzle velocity, while the Japan grossing chart shows where the paying VTuber fanbase actually lives. Pre-registrations reached 1.6M ahead of the July 23 launch (gamebiz, hololive official).

Warline: Sniper Strike debuted at #18 free game as Fortnite climbed to #12

Warline: Sniper Strike, a sniper-strategy game that launched July 22, debuted at #18 on the US free-games chart (MSY Games, Apple's live chart). It sits behind the Istanbul puzzle wall, Block Out #1, Meowdoku #2, Smash Fest #3, and Magic Sort #4, which has held the top four free-game spots for over a week.

Fortnite climbed to #12 free game, and the indie NBA roster-builder 82-0.com held a top-10 games spot at #7 for over a week (MSY Games).

Tracking

• Apple v. Epic: no stay ruling into a second week. The last filing was the Coral Springs securities-case stay Apple submitted to Judge Gonzalez Rogers on July 17 (9to5Mac). Status quo is 0% external-link commission.
• World Cup cohort: zero WC apps in the top 25 for a fifth straight day; Kalshi sat at #74 (App Chart Archive).
• ColdTrace: the detective game slid from #14 Thursday to #96 on MSY's combined chart, its organic climb reversing (MSY Games).
• Resale-fashion floor: Depop #5 and Vinted #7 held a top-10 floor for a sixth straight day.
• Weekend streaming: Paramount+ re-entered at #25, up 27 spots, as Peacock, Tubi, HBO Max, VIZIO, and Roku all climbed together over the weekend.