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 Korean MMO market, securing a spot in the Google Play top-grossing top three, but it also single-handedly drove the company's revenue growth by 110%.

I9 is essentially the Chinese 神火大陆. South Korea was not its first international debut—back in August last year, the game was launched in Western and Southeast Asian markets under the name Flame of Valhalla.

It quickly entered Sensor Tower's overseas revenue growth rankings for that month and generated over a million dollars in revenue for Leniu Games just last month.

As a numerical-based MMO, a genre in which Leniu Games excels, its global breakthrough can be attributed to market-friendly themes, high-end visual design, and Leniu Games' well-honed expertise in user acquisition.

Overall, both I9 and Flame of Valhalla adopted an aggressive market-entry strategy, but their specific execution differed in several key ways.

Using AppGrowing's "Pre-registration" feature, we can see that Flame of Valhalla opened pre-registrations in various regions a month before its official launch.

I9 followed a similar approach, opening pre-registration on Google Play in South Korea a month ahead of release.

However, the advertising strategies differed. I9 began its ad campaigns almost simultaneously with pre-registration, showing a clear growth trend. By the time of launch, daily ad volume had surpassed 1,000 sets.

In contrast, Flame of Valhalla lagged behind in this regard, with large-scale ad spending only beginning in mid-July—half a month after pre-registration opened in major Western markets like the U.S., U.K., and France.

This suggests that Leniu Games took a more cautious approach in the South Korean market, which has high localization barriers and an intensely competitive MMO sector. Such caution was evidently justified.

Beyond marketing timelines, the creative approach to advertising also varied. According to AppGrowing data, Flame of Valhalla focused more on gameplay demonstrations, emphasizing combat sequences and power progression.

Some creatives also leveraged the popularity of well-known MMO titles to enhance engagement.

I9 adopted similar tactics but incorporated more South Korea-specific content.

A standout strategy was its collaboration with local influencers (KOLs). The game partnered with over a dozen South Korean influencers, leveraging their influence to reach diverse audience segments and rapidly establish a foothold in the local market.The sheer number of influencers also helped create a perception of overwhelming popularity, amplifying the game's brand presence.

Leniu Games also invested heavily in influencer-led video ads. These videos focused on production quality rather than simple gameplay demonstrations, highlighting the game's use of Unreal Engine and showcasing high-quality visual environments to strengthen player perception.

Additionally, Leniu Games applied some of the viral marketing tactics that had been popular in China, such as "developer apology events" and "player quit threats," adapting them with local actors for South Korean audiences.

Thanks to these carefully tailored localization strategies, I9 outperformed Flame of Valhalla and brought Leniu Games into the industry spotlight.

02.Achieving Global Transformation in Just Three Years

At the start of the year, Leniu Games celebrated its 10th anniversary. According to its official website, the company has grown to over 800 employees.

In its early days, it entered the mobile gaming market through turn-based RPGs and MMOs, launching its first major title, 魔域英雄, a "light turn-based" RPG.

The following year, Leniu Games achieved two major milestones. First, the exclusive distribution of 仙灵奇缘 exceeded 10 million RMB in monthly revenue, proving the company's publishing capabilities. Second, it launched its first self-developed MMO, 猎魔传说, further solidifying its market position.

According to official data, 猎魔传说 reached an annual revenue peak of 450 million RMB, with monthly revenue exceeding 70 million RMB—impressive figures even by today's standards. This success cemented Leniu Games' MMO-centric product strategy.

Following this, Leniu Games pursued a dual strategy of self-development and third-party publishing. With the rise of performance marketing, it achieved rapid growth. However, as domestic traffic growth slowed and competition intensified, Leniu Games had to step outside its comfort zone to explore new directions.

Global expansion became a central theme of its transformation. Although Leniu Games launched its global business in 2021, it wasn’t until the following year that it truly gained momentum.

In 2022, the company released Divine W, the global version of 九灵神域. The previous year, the traditional Chinese version, 永夜星神, had been published by SP-Games and performed exceptionally well, topping Taiwan's iOS game revenue rankings and remaining in the top ten for three consecutive months.

In early 2023, 神火大陆 launched in China, but Leniu Games did not immediately push it to the global market. Instead, its notable global efforts that year included Darkness Saga and 용면M: 긴간된 발키리 (hereafter referred to as 용면M).

However, both were essentially different regional versions of the same product. Compared to the later I9, 용면M had more conservative ad spending and less localized creative adaptation, making it more of an experimental entry into the Korean market.

Fast-forward to the second half of 2024, 神火大陆 had been operating in China for over a year before finally being launched as Flame of Valhalla in Western markets.

Six months later, it entered South Korea as I9. The results have already been discussed, but in just three years, Leniu Games successfully established its global gaming business.

Of course, the actual process was more complex. So far, all the mentioned titles have been MMOs, but Leniu Games' global expansion consists of two product lines.

AppGrowing's "Top Publishers" data shows that Leniu Games currently operates four anime-style card games in the international market. Whether it can successfully establish a foothold in this genre and further expand its global reach remains to be seen.

Looking beyond gaming, Leniu Games has explored multiple areas of transformation. It leveraged the rise of short video streaming to experiment with "live streaming-based user acquisition," achieving impressive results.

Last year, it announced a full-scale push into WeChat Channels. As mini-games surged in popularity, the company also joined the trend.

Additionally, it entered the short drama sector, launching mini-programs on WeChat and 抖音. However, both mini-games and short dramas remain in the exploratory phase, and whether they will become pillars of Leniu Games' transformation strategy remains to be seen.