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Tencent and NetEase top App Annie's Top 52 app publishers list for 2018 as APAC companies dominate

33 of the top 52 companies hail from APAC

Tencent and NetEase top App Annie's Top 52 app publishers list for 2018 as APAC companies dominate

Tencent has topped App Annie's list of the top 52 app publishers of 2018 ranked by revenue.

The analytics firm put together the list by combining iOS and Google Play player spending on paid downloads and in-app purchases between January 1st to December 31st 2018. It does not include sales from in-app advertising, which is becoming an increasingly lucrative business for many top publishers.

Once again, Tencent and NetEase snagged first and second respectively, but fellow Asian publishers are all over the top 52.

Seven of the top 10 are based on the continent, while only one - Playrix - doesn't hold links with the region. A fact that App Annie won't let pass without comment. Overall 33 of the top 52 publishers are from APAC.

Chart toppers

“Over the last few years, we have seen Asia-Pacific (APAC) publishers dominate the top 52 and this year was no exception," read a statement from App Annie.

“Seven of the top 10 publishers are headquartered in APAC: the top two are both Chinese, while four Japanese publishers found their way into the top 10. Meanwhile, South Korea is represented by powerhouse Netmarble.”

You can find out more about Asia markets on the East Meets West track at the upcoming Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle conference on May 13 to 14th.

Below is the full list of App Annie’s top 52 app publishers of 2018.

Staff Writer

Natalie Clayton is an Edinburgh-based freelance writer and game developer. Besides PCGamesInsider and Pocketgamer.biz, she's written across the games media landscape and was named in the 2018 GamesIndustry.biz 100 Rising Star list.