Chinese Mobile Games Market Revenue Expected to Reach $2.9 Billion in 2014, Up 93% Over 2013

An estimated 38% of Chinese mobile gamers spend money in games in 2014

SAN JOSE, Calif. – August 4, 2014 – Niko Partners, the leader in Asian Games Market Intelligence™, today announced the availability of Chinese Mobile Games Market Report 2014, the latest market update with detailed data on the mobile games market size and forecast, popular Chinese mobile games titles analyzed in partnership with Beijing-based App Annie, and mobile gamer behavior data from Niko’s numerous surveys of Chinese mobile gamers as well as data on hardware, regulations, trends based on interviews with industry executives, and much more. App Annie ranked the top 20 iOS App Store games by downloads and revenue in China for June 2014, and Niko built lists for Android games by downloads and revenues by researching leading app stores and markets.

Key takeaways from Niko’s Chinese Mobile Games Market Report 2014 include:
The market will experience incredible growth with a CAGR of 37.6% from 2013-2018e.
Casual games on Android devices are the most popular in the market this year.
A high rate of 38% of Chinese mobile gamers pay to play games either via paid download or, more likely, with in-app purchases (IAP). This rate will rise annually in the forecast period.
It is imperative to understand Chinese gamers and their gaming preferences and behavior, as well as the complex distribution environment, prior to a foreign mobile game developer attempting to launch a game in China.
“With roughly 4,000 mobile games published in China annually a company needs to understand the true demand and behavior of Chinese gamers in order to ascend to the top of the rankings and generate significant revenue,” said Lisa Cosmas Hanson, managing partner and founder of Niko Partners. “However, with 288 million Chinese mobile gamers in 2014 forecast by Niko to rise to 770 million by 2018, a savvy mobile game developer can be profitable with even a small amount of spending on its game if it gets into the hands of enough smartphone owners.”

This report is heavy on data and provides one of the most detailed analytical looks at the Chinese mobile games market, demonstrated to be taking share from the $14 billion Chinese PC online game segment. It is critical analysis for any mobile or online game company, mobile or PC hardware maker, components maker, service provider, or institutional investor with an eye on China.

The 76-slide report full of data exhibits and analysis is available now in Niko’s online research store: https://nikopartners.com/researchstore, or by contacting sales@nikopartners.com, for $7,000. The report is automatically sent to annual subscribers to our research, who also received China’s PC Online & Console Games Market Report 2014 in April as well as dedicated consulting time. Contact us or visit https://nikopartners.com for subscription information. You can also follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our weekly free Niko News analysis containing Niko’s analysis on important Asian games market news by emailing megan@nikopartners.com or registering on our website.

Niko Partners Interview with VentureBeat

Niko Partners’ Senior Analyst Xiaofeng Zeng conducted an interview with VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi in Shanghai during ChinaJoy last week about the state of China’s mobile game market. The in-depth article includes information from that interview, the press release, and a subsequent conversation with Lisa Hanson.