China is the world’s biggest mobile market, and for good reason. The country imposed a lengthy ban on console sales, allowing mobile to thrive uncontested. As such, the majority of the company’s gaming giants have historically focused on mobile.

Last month we reported that 37 of the top 100 mobile game publishers in July 2023 were from China, now August has seen the country’s publishers account for 40 out of 100, including the top three: Tencent, NetEase, and miHoYo. Together, these 40 contributed a combined $2.07 billion, representing 39.3% of the total.

Revenue for Honkai: Star Rail increased 29% month-on-month, helping to drive a 16.7% increase in miHoYo’s revenue.

Mobile blockbusters

Crystal Core, which launched on July 14, proved to be a blockbuster, with a 35% month-on-month increase in revenue. August saw the game enter the top five revenue charts on iOS in the country, with publisher Chaoxi Guanginian making number six on the revenue list with a 20.8% increase from July 2023.

Diandin Interactive also saw a strong showing, with the strong performance of Whiteout Survival in the Korean and American markets driving the company to a record second consecutive month of 10% growth.

Mutong’s title Watcher of Realms also continued its strong performance, with revenue exceeding $10 million and driving the company to 13% growth in revenue.

Other Chinese publishers among the top 100 are Yingjiao Network, Yishijie, and Perfect World.

MapleStory: Legend of Maple, the latest game in the hit franchise, was released for public beta on August 17, and topped the Chinese game download list for two consecutive days, going on to become the only new entry in the country’s highest grossing charts to make the top 10.

Honour of Kings maintained its place as the top grossing game in China, followed by Nike Shui Han,Peace Elite, and Honkai: Star Rail. Crystal Core’s strong performance saw it round out the top five.

We listed Tencent, NetEase, and miHoYo as three of the top 50 mobile game makers of 2023.