Following the breakout success of Whiteout Survival, which sparked a wave of enthusiasm for the "simulation management + 4X" hybrid model, a number of publishers rushed to get in on the action.Most recently, EWORLD's prison-themed 4X game Lands of Jail has made a strong showing. According to Sensor Tower data, the game's revenue surged 342% in April alone, surpassing $4 million in combined iOS and Android revenue over the past month. The United States emerged as the top-grossing market, accounting for 33% of total revenue, followed by Germany with 13%. So, how did Lands of Jail leverage the unusual appeal of a prison setting to stand out? And what else contributed to its breakthrough performance in an increasingly saturated genre? […]

According to Sensor Tower, Century Games' Whiteout Survival has raked in a staggering $2 billion in global in-app purchase revenue—this figure excludes China's third-party Android channels. As the title celebrates this milestone, AppGrowing has detected the emergence of a new 4X game from Century Games that is beginning to make waves across global markets. In just one month, the game—Kingshot—climbed from around No. 200 to the top 50 on the U.S. iOS grossing charts. It also broke into the top five of the free games ranking and the top 100 grossing games on South Korea's Google Play store. After hands-on testing, it's clear that Kingshot signals Century Games' ambition to replicate the success of Whiteout Survival. 01.Medieval Theme Meets Casual […]

In the latest global revenue rankings for Chinese mobile game publishers released by Sensor Tower, Leniu Games made its debut at No. 27. Leniu Games has long been associated with aggressive user acquisition, but as the mobile internet dividend fades, the company has actively joined the sweeping wave of transformation. Globalization is one of the key themes of this transformation. However, in previous years, Leniu Games had little presence in the global market—until now, when a single title propelled it to No. 27 on the list. 01.Breaking New Ground with a Single Product I9: 인페르노 나인 (hereafter referred to as I9) was the key driver behind Leniu Games' recent success. Not only did it break into the fiercely competitive South […]

A year ago, at Tencent's annual staff meeting, Chairman Pony Ma criticized the gaming business for "resting on its laurels." Just one year later, this assessment has transformed into "a very impressive achievement." The overseas business has been emphasized once again, and it was revealed that Tencent's share of overseas game revenue is now close to half of its domestic business. In 2019, Tencent began accelerating its steps toward global expansion. Last year, the overseas gaming business was even seen as the company's biggest hope for internationalization. This year, Pony Ma once again gave positive feedback on the overseas business. 01.New and Old Products Jointly Pushed Revenues to New Highs According to the released financial reports, Tencent's overseas gaming business […]

In the latest edition of SensorTower’s Global Revenue Rankings for Chinese Mobile Game Publishers, Microfun has surpassed Papergames and 37 Interactive Entertainment, securing the sixth position on the list. This achievement is attributed to two of its merge games—Gossip Harbor: Merge & Story and Seaside Escape: Merge & Story. In November last year, these two games topped the global merge game revenue rankings, with Gossip Harbor even surpassing Genshin Impact, reaching Top 4 on the global mobile game revenue chart at the time. Earlier, AppGrowing conducted a follow-up report on Gossip Harbor. In brief, Gossip Harboris a Merge-2 (two-in-one) game that follows the classic cycle of “tap to generate items, merge items, complete orders, earn coins, renovate.” However, the game […]

The theme is often the key to breaking through in SLG games. Some seemingly unconventional themes can sometimes achieve unexpected success, such as the "mafia" themes in two SLG games, Mafia City and The Grand Mafia by YoTa Games, or the "ant" theme SLG The Ants: Underground Kingdom by StarUnion. Last November, Tap4Fun launched Top Girl, which also features a highly eye-catching theme — girl groups. Not only that, the characters of these girl groups are also generated by AI. After launching, Top Girl demonstrated strong market competitiveness. By the end of November, it had made its way into the top 200 on the U.S. iOS game revenue charts, and now it has climbed to around the top 100. Tap4Fun […]

      According to SensorTower, Tencent's SLG mobile game Age of Empires Mobile saw significant revenue growth in October, ranking eighth on the global mobile game revenue growth chart with $10.7 million in revenue. According to 伽马数据（CNG）, SLG games accounted for an impressive 38.9% of revenue among the Top 100 overseas mobile games developed in China last year, vastly outperforming the second-place RPG genre at 16%. The revenue-generating capabilities of SLG games need no further emphasis. Conquering the SLG category would undoubtedly be a significant boost to Tencent Games’ global expansion. Now, Age of Empires Mobile seems to be that critical entry ticket. But what kind of game is it, and how has it managed to break through the […]

Tencent’s subsidiary Miniclip recently announced a $1.2 billion acquisition of Easybrain from Embracer Group, with the deal expected to close in early 2025. Miniclip, which joined Tencent in 2015 as a pioneer in the global casual gaming sector, has not only made significant progress in casual sports games but has also acquired over a dozen studios in recent years, greatly expanding Tencent’s footprint in the international casual gaming market. The acquired company, Easybrain, is a top-tier developer in the casual puzzle genre, specializing in Sudoku, crossword, and jigsaw puzzle games. Just recently, Easybrain announced that its mobile games have surpassed 2 billion downloads, cementing its position in the global gaming market. At first glance, the acquisition appears to be a […]

At the end of last month, 4399 launched another WeChat mini-game in the Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Southeast Asian markets. The game successfully entered Taiwan’s iOS game bestseller list, reaching a peak position of sixth. Although this game bears the name 热血大作战, it is unrelated to the WeChat mini-game 热血大作战 released by 4399 a few months ago. In fact, its counterpart is 指尖无双. With its distinctive artistic style and a hybrid gameplay combining "simulation + SLG," 指尖无双 broke into the top ten of the WeChat mini-game bestseller list back in April this year. The mainland China success of 指尖无双 and its impressive overseas performance naturally spark curiosity: how did it stand out in the fiercely competitive mini-game market? And […]

In September, a mobile game called Capybara Go! has been launched in a few markets and has achieved good results in some Southeast Asian markets, successfully breaking into the Top Grossing iOS Games 10 in both Vietnam and Singapore. Since its exposure, Capybara Go! has attracted significant attention in the industry, not only for the product's own performance but also because of the manufacturer behind it, Habby, which has launched several hit casual games. By the way, the R&D studio behind Capybara Go! is Gorilla Games, the same team that brought us Archero and Survivor!.io. Archero helped Habby establish its reputation in the industry after only a year of existence, while Survivor!.io once again refreshed the industry's perception of Habby […]