Chinese Video Game Companies Saw Strong Revenue Increases in April
Chinese gaming companies recorded robust revenue growth on mobile platforms in April, as major players in the field roll out content updates for their existing games and launch new titles amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Sensor Tower report.
The 30 highest-grossing Chinese developers and publishers generated more than $1.74 billion in revenue worldwide across Apple’s App Store and Google Play in April, marking a 6.7% month over month increase and accounting for 27.5% of the global mobile game revenue for the period.
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Top on the list is Tencent, which saw its revenue for April jump 9% compared to March, powered primarily by the high performance of Honour of Kings. The four-year-old MOBA title just received a major content update, boosting user spending by 43% month over month. On May 1, the first day of China’s Labor Day holiday, Honour of Kings also recorded its highest ever daily revenue.
The lockdown orders in overseas markets such as the US and Europe helped FunPlus achieve an 11.2% month over month revenue increase in April, hitting a historical high. The growth is primarily attributable to the surging revenue from post-apocalyptic strategy title State of Survival, the report said.
Video sharing website and game publisher BiliBili saw the most substantial growth in April among all Chinese gaming companies. With the release of the Chinese version of anime-themed role-playing game Princess Connect! Re:Dive in mid-April, the company’s revenue for the month rocketed up 378% month over month.
Anime-themed game developer Happy Elements made headway in Japan in April with its rhythm game Ensemble Stars!! Music. The title, which was released in the Japanese market in March, boosted the company’s April revenue up by 56% month over month.
As China’s video game market becomes more strictly regulated, gaming companies have been looking to overseas markets to boost growth. In 2019, Chinese-developed games brought in $11.59 billion from markets outside China, increasing 21% year on year, according to a report from China’s Game Publishing Commission (GPC). Domestic gaming revenue growth for the year, in comparison, lagged at around 15.3% year on year.
