Recently, AppGrowing found that Bilibili's casual ACG game Trickcal: Chibi Go released overseas on October 9 and quickly climbed to the top of the iOS free charts in Japan. The game has already surpassed $1 million in revenue, with over 60% coming from the Japanese market.
You might not be familiar with the game's name, but it’s very likely you've seen its 'puffy, cute face' emoji of chibi characters on social media.
Additionally, the game leverages Live2D technology to realize fully interactive face-pinning features across all scenarios. When players pinch the face, triggers like blushing or puffing cheeks are activated, and during dialogues, face-pinning can interrupt character lines.
Many of these fan-made stickers feature popular in-game characters redesigned by players, helping Trickcal: Chibi Go beyond gaming communities into mainstream social media. This organic spread has cultivated a deeply engaged, almost IP-like fanbase around the game.
Moreover, 'Trickcal: Chibi Go' offers a relaxed and casual gaming experience, blending auto-chess strategy with turn-based combat. Players strategically match character skills and traits to win battles.
Although this may sound somewhat complex, the game supports automatic battles and level sweeps throughout, making it much more accessible.
Generally, as long as players develop their characters and find suitable team compositions, they can easily proceed with the game.
The game adopts a light development system. A core combat power mechanic is the color palette (similar to talent trees), where each character has a unique interface. Players unlock attributes by consuming crayons, which are mainly obtained through missions and dungeons. Daily missions take only about 10 minutes, requiring minimal effort.
According to AppGrowing, 'Trickcal: Chibi Go' initially launched with a maximum of 1,312 ad creatives within the first few days. Currently, daily ad spend does not exceed 100 creatives. However, it is worth noting that although the game's paid promotion is quite moderate, the content is meticulously crafted, emphasizing a “less but high-quality” strategy.
Moreover, the creatives incorporate recognizable landmarks such as Tokyo Tower, Shibuya, and Taipei 101 relevant to the launch regions, helping the game better integrate into local markets.
At this year’s Tokyo Game Show , Trickcal: Chibi Go attracted significant attention with “muscle-bound dudes + cosplay of game characters” outfits, capturing the interest of many attendees. This playful approach effectively conveyed the game’s “light-hearted” and “prankster” themes in a humorous way.
In July last year, during an investor forum, Bilibili publicly stated that it is accelerating its overseas gaming market expansion, positioning “agency and going global” as its core strategy. The company highlighted that it is currently in the third “five-year plan” for gaming, maintaining a dual approach of “self-developed and agency” titles, and continuously developing games favored by young players.
Bilibili's financials reflect strong overseas growth, with gaming revenue surging 76% YoY in Q1 and 60% in Q2—clear evidence of its successful global expansion strategy.
However, Bilibili faces a pressing challenge in new game supply. Aside from the mobile SLG '三國:謀定天下', released last year, there have been few successful new launches lately. The company’s mobile game revenue still heavily depends on two long-standing hits: 'Fate/Grand Order' and 'Azur Lane', highlighting a single-structure issue that urgently needs to be addressed through successful new titles.
On the other hand, Bilibili has launched innovative, visually unique casual games such as 'Escape from Duckov', which achieved impressive market performance with its lightweight design. The game has performed remarkably well, with sold over 1 million copies, topping Steam's bestseller list in China and ranking third globally.
By targeting young markets and creating diverse game themes, the company aims to push more of its self-developed titles overseas. Meanwhile, it will continue to seek “potential stocks” like Trickcal: Chibi Go for agency distribution globally. Through an increasingly mature overseas distribution system, Bilibili plans to pursue both self-developed and agency-based growth simultaneously.
Whether it is Escape from Duckov’s one million units sold or the successful overseas launches of Jujutsu Kaisen Phantom Parade and Trickcal: Chibi Go, Bilibili’s proactive overseas expansion efforts in recent years have injected new vitality into its gaming business. All signs indicate that Bilibili is gradually reshaping its brand image in the game market through differentiated products and international deployment.
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