Sensor Tower has analysed the top 100 mobile publishers for the month of July, and found that 37 of those in the charts are based in China. In total, Chinese publishers accounted for 38.1% of top 100's total mobile gaming revenue, bringing in a massive $2 billion.
Tencent maintained its place as China’s number one mobile game publisher. NetEase rose to second place, largely driven by the ongoing success of its title Naushuihan, which was released for public beta on June 30. The game remained in the top three domestic bestsellers on iOS platforms for the first thirty days and ranked second in the global iOS best-selling list for July, topping NetEase’s charts by revenue.
The company’s title Peak Speed saw significant growth, with revenue increasing 141%, leading to the game taking the spot as China’s ninth top-selling iOS title in July. Meanwhile Eggy Party continued its strong performance, maintaining its spot as China’s number two game in terms of daily active users for the seventh consecutive month.
miHoYo also saw a strong month, coming in third place among Chinese developers. Honkai: Star Rail came in fourth place in terms of iOS revenue, falling one spot. The company’s hit game Genshin Impact also fell one slot to tenth place.
Rising stars
Other strong performers include Chaoxi Guangnian’s Crystal Core, which was released on July 14 and ascended to the number eight spot on iOS. The report highlights this strength by noting that if only the second half of July was counted the game would place fourth behind only Honour of Kings, Naishuihan, and Peace Elite.
The title led to Chaoxi Guangnian’s revenue surging 109% month-on-month, achieving not just a record high but seeing it climb seven spots among China’s top 30 developers to eighth place.
The report notes that China’s iOS market grew 8.8% year-on-year and 2.5% year-on-year. While this growth is slower than what the company’s market experienced during the Spring Festival, it does indicate that the market is recovering, although it should be noted that China announced a fresh wave of restrictions on smartphone use in minors earlier this month as part of its continued efforts to clamp down on video game addiction, which could result in setbacks in the future.
