Enhanced Player Safety
NetEase Games introduces regulation appeasing ‘Minor Mode' across all products
The move could indicate that the company expects rapid and random Chinese legislation to continue
The Greatest Genres
RPGs dominate consumer spending, generating 30% of all 2023 mobile game revenue
data.ai’s new report reveals reveals that the genre generated $24.5 billion - a huge 30% of revenues - from only 3% of total game downloads
Regional Revenues
China and US accounted for more than 50% of the $107 billion spent on mobile games in 2023
data.ai’s latest report reveals all about regional revenue and download differences
Hot Five
Hot Five: Tencent’s newest gameplan, PlatinumGames’ pullout, and investing into Indian Esports
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Week That Was
Week in Views - What caught our eyes in the last seven days
The Pocketgamer.biz team take their pick of this weeks big news, including the end of service for Kim Kardashian, 2024's AI ambitions and the future of gacha in China
Purchase Power
Tencent sells app store to Huya ahead of Chinese crackdown
Tencent has been selling up and parting ways with its animation company. Now an app store leaves its stable.
Gacha Glimpse
Genshin Impact, Fate/Grand Order, Goddess of Victory: Nikke… How would the big gachas fare with a China ban?
As Chinese regulations scrutinise gacha mechanics, are the genre’s biggest players making enough elsewhere?
Passing The Buck
Top Chinese official removed following gaming crackdown confusion
Top publicity official Feng Shixin has been relieved of his duty after the release of work-in-progress tighter gaming regulations wiped $80 billion from top Chinese gaming stocks
Appchievement
Chinese game licence approvals surpassed 1,000 in 2023 in return to form
The total more than doubled 2022’s approval numbers
Update
China's latest gaming crackdown: What's new and what it means for mobile's biggest game makers
The introduction of spending limits and bans on everything from regular login rewards to gacha gaming mechanics have thrown China's gaming giants into chaos
Tumble Guys
Tencent and NetEase lose $80 billion in market value as China cracks down on game monetisation tactics
New rules prohibit daily login rewards, first-time purchase bonuses and rewards for repeat spend
Esports Glory
China's Wolves wins $1 million Call of Duty: Mobile World Championship
Runner-up GodLike becomes most successful Indian team in the competition after finishing second
Impressive Growth
China's gaming industry bounces back with over $42.6 billion in domestic revenue
The Red Dragon's video games market has successfully bounced back, overcoming challenges in foreign markets
Support From Supercell
Supercell co-founder supports $1.6M funding round in Chinese publisher MyGamez
Supercell co-founder Mikko Kodisoja, Small Giant Games co-founder Timo Soininen, Reworks co-founder Ilkka Teppo and former Riot China head of operations Daniel Wang are on board
Highest Earners
Chinese mobile publishers see an end of year revenue turnaround despite industry challenges
Tencent dominates, but other publishers are also finding success with Chinese companies holding 37 of the top 100 global revenue rankings for November
Dance The Blues
Crunch time for ByteDance's gaming ambitions
Big tech pulls back from gaming again
1999 Reasons To Play
Bluepoch’s debut time travel game Reverse: 1999 reaches $15 million
The latest Chinese gacha game is coming out of stealth with impressive early figures
Predicting Prosperity
China’s gaming rebound is go and on track for $47.8 billion revenue this year
Niko Partners projects a 5.2% YoY rise in gaming revenue
Meta Manoeuvres
Tencent backs Meta’s VR push into China after a 14 year ban
Meta and Tencent are teaming up to bring a new lower-spec VR headset to China, pitched between Quest 2 and 3
Uk Acquisitions
BFI: More than 50% of UK games developers are now owned by overseas entities
The US accounts for 49% of overseas transactions followed by China’s 15%
Publishing Power
Top Chinese publishers accounted for 38.7% of October’s mobile revenue
Tencent, NetEase and miHoYo continue to triumph and Goat Games rises up the ranks
Mobile Report
China generated over $42 billion in mobile user spend in 2023
Mobile ad spend is projected to hit $362 billion this year
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from time travelling Brits to cat rescuers
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Sales Success
Bilibili passes 300m monthly users as Dead Cells hits five million Chinese sales
Five million paid installs in two years, with a big boost this August
Roblox Reduction
Roblox China faces layoffs as the company undergoes "evaluation"
It's safe to say that the launch of the Chinese version of Roblox, LuoBuLesi, didn’t quite go to plan
Trends
Chinese gaming trends revealed as 52% of the population play games
Trends, censorship, approvals, mixed genre games and more come under the microscope
Dirty Deals?
Apple sacks App Store staff in China over potential deals with game developers
Free meals, nightclub outings and more were offered to iOS app store staff
China Vs Apple
Tim Cook makes a surprise appearance at Chinese Honor of Kings tournament
The unexpected live appearance comes amid a turbulent period for Apple’s relations with China
China
Swedish-based Flamebait Games sees pay-to-play mobile title Passepartout receive 100k downloads in China
The ISBN licence for the game apparently took almost four years
Industry Investigations
India arrests Vivo smartphone executives in latest China retaliation
Vivo has previously come under investigation in a money laundering probe
September Success
China’s top publishers generated $1.96 billion this September
39 out of 100 top publishers were based in China last month
An Apple A Day
Apple's App Store steps into line to comply with Chinese regulations
The company has previously come under fire for the Chinese government, but it appears it's ready to play ball
Alternative App Stores
Who are the 26 app stores complying with China’s latest regulations?
The country’s latest crackdown has seen alternative app stores become even more prominent in the Chinese market
League Of Its Own
League of Legends: Wild Rift reaches lofty $1 billion across 111 million downloads
data.ai suggests such a milestone was reached through optimisation of touch controls and quick matches
Chinese App Market
Apple isn’t complying with China’s new app store regulations
The Cyberspace Administration of China has named 26 app stores complying with its new rules
Success In China
MapleStory M surpassed $55 million in its first 35 days on the Chinese market
The game’s success in China pushed the game over $600 million in lifetime revenue
Licence List
Chinese licence approvals are on the up this September, but just how high?
September matches top month of 2023 with 89 new game approvals
Chairman Comes
miHoYo co-founder Cai Haoyu steps down as chairman… Liu Wei steps up
Cai Haoyu will focus on research and development to push the company forward
Clampdown
Uma Musume Pretty Derby yanked from Chinese app stores two weeks after launch
The game's sudden withdrawal may be due to the gambling connection of its horse racing themes
Indian Market
Indian gaming market set to generate $868 million in revenue in 2023
96.8% of Indian gamers play on smartphone or tablets
Announcements
Tencent teases competitor to NetEase's Eggy Party
The Fall Guys/Stumble Guys-inspired title has been a big hit for NetEase
Gaming In China
miHoYo and NetEase block Alipay payments on iOS
iOS users were also banned from recharging via Alipay
Chinese Market
Which games ruled the Chinese market in August?
More than fifty new games were released in the world’s biggest mobile gaming market over the month
Industry Insight
China dominates among the top 100 global mobile publishers
40 of the top 100 publishers in August 2023 were from China - three more than in July
Success In China
The Chinese mobile game markets generated $3 billion in July 2023
The sector saw a 50% year-on-year increase in revenue
Chinese Restrictions
China bans iPhones and other foreign-branded mobile phones for government officials
The move appears carefully timed, impacting Apple's share price pre-iPhone 15 reveal
Chinese App Stores
China’s app stores begin compliance with China’s latest regulations
Tencent and Xiaomi are among the app store owners now complying with the government’s regulations
Approvals Arrive
China approved 31 foreign games in August
2023's year-so-far exceeds 2022's total as The Lord of the Rings and One Piece mobile games get the go ahead
Garena Free Fire
Garena Free Fire returns to Indian app stores on September 5
The title was banned in the country in 2022 due to national security concerns
Milestones
Crystal of Atlan is ByteDance’s first homegrown success story
The game is their first major hit that was developed in-house