Chinese game publishers made waves in Japan’s mobile game market in the first quarter of 2019, according to newly released Sensor Tower data.
While revenue in the world’s top mobile gaming market held flat year-on-year at USD 2.74 billion (RMB 18.92 billion), the amount contributed by Chinese mobile games among the 100 bestsellers was USD 310 million (RMB 2.14 trillion), up 83% year-on-year.
Chinese games also accounted for 11.2% of the revenue among the top 100 mobile games, compared to 6.3% last year.
In all, 16 games from China entered the ranks of Japan’s 100 bestselling mobile games, compared with 11 in the first three months of 2018. Three NetEase games made it on the list, while Tencent had two.
NetEase’s Knives Out title topped the bestselling chart with USD 100 million in revenue, earning fives time more than the next Chinese mobile game on the list, PUBG Mobile, which was developed by Tencent and ranked fifth.
Japan’s mobile gaming industry is worth approximately USD 14.2 billion, according to Gzbrain statistics cited by Nikkei, and Chinese game developers are angling to enter the market following a regulatory clampdown in mainland China.