In Q3 2020, the Chinese mobile gaming market posted robust revenue growth. The industry generated 50.8 billion RMB ($7.56 billion). Compared to Q3 2019, that marked an increase of 25% and 3.14% higher than Q2 2020 revenue.
The third quarter of every year has always been considered the peak period for games as students are usually home for summer break. However, in 2020, the stay-home trend also contributed significantly to the quarter’s performance.
According to the research data analyzed and published by Safe Betting Sites, mobile games dominated the market during H1 2020. Mobile games accounted for 75.04%, generating 104.6 billion yuan ($15 billion. On the other hand, client network games had a 20.18% market share while browser games took 2.87%. Console and PC games got a 1.91% share.
The huge share of mobile games in the country makes China the leading market globally. Its lead position has to do with the fact that 60% of the country’s population consists of smartphone users. For this population, mobile devices are the most popular platforms for gameplay. In fact, 82% of gamers in the country use mobile phones, compared to 59% for PC users.
Around 33% of gamers play games on their mobile devices every day, while another 33% play between three and six days weekly. 18% play once or twice every week.
China’s Mobile Game Market to Grow to $21.25 Billion in 2020
China accounts for over 25% of the global mobile game market according to Research and Markets. Golden Casino News estimates that in 2020, China could generate up to 40% of the total revenue from the global mobile games market.
During the first half of 2020, China’s mobile game market grew by 35.8% year-over-year (YoY), compared to 21.6% growth during a similar period in 2019.
According to a Statista forecast, revenue from the country’s mobile game segment is set to reach $21.25 billion in 2020. That would translate to a growth rate of 17.9% YoY. The report projects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.1% between 2020 and 2025, driving the market volume to $23.58 billion by 2025.
Based on Research and Markets data, the sector generated $18.5 billion in 2019. Its projection is a tad less conservative, estimating that the market will grow to $32 billion by 2024.
The rapid growth of the market has been going hand-in-hand with the number of players. There were about 381 million mobile gamers in China in 2017. By 2019, the figure had grown to 450.7 million. Statista projects that in 2020, the number of gamers will increase by 16.2% YoY to reach 523.5 million. By 2025, there could be up to 575.9 million mobile gamers in the country.
China’s dominance of mobile gaming will also be felt in eSports. According to an iResearch report, the Chinese eSports market is expected to generate 140.57 billion yuan ($21 billion) in 2020. Of this amount, mobile eSports games are projected to account for 46.1% of all revenue. On the other hand, PC eSports games’ revenue will account for 25% of the total. It is worth noting that the PC segment accounted for 42.7% of the industry’s revenue in 2017.
Moreover, over 50% of the global eSports revenue and more than 70% of mobile eSports revenue come from Asia. The region has over 500 million eSports fans and at least 600 million eSports players.
Revenue from Chinese Games Overseas Grows by 36.32% YoY in H1 2020
Home-grown games dominate the market in China. In H1 2020, they accounted for 86% of all gaming revenue. Notably, Chinese games have gained considerable popularity in overseas markets.
The sales revenue of Chinese games overseas in H2 2019 was $6.02 billion, growing to $7.59 billion in H1 2020. It translated to an increase of 36.32%. In comparison, domestic sales grew by 30.38%.
Japan, the US and South Korea are the main targets for game developers in China, cumulatively accounting for almost 70% of the total revenue.
Meanwhile, in the mobile games segment, nine out of the top 52 gaming app publishers in 2020 come from China according to AppAnnie. Publishers from Asia make up more than half of the total and these include five from the top 10. The top two were Tencent and NetEase, both from China.
In 2019, mobile games from China accounted for an 18.5% share of the overseas market. During Q1 2020, they made up 19 of the top 100 highest grossing games globally, accounting for 16.3% of the revenue generated by the top 100 titles. It marked a 15.3% YoY increase.
