During the period of epidemic prevention and control, China’s mobile game industry grew strongly and contributed to the economy as a whole.
In times of home isolation, games have contributed to social wellbeing, giving the public a feeling of closeness and a pivotal alternative to offline interaction during celebrations such as the Spring Festival.
Yodo1 champions mobile games as a way to bring people together, especially in times of hardship, and recently joined hundreds of developers in the #PlayApartTogether initiative. As a game service company, we focus on helping developers bring happiness to millions with their games – worldwide and in China.
To keep our partners and developers around the world informed of industry trends, this article will share a number of key insights on how the Coronavirus pandemic has influenced the Chinese mobile game industry.
Record high growth in Q1 2020
Recently, Gamma Data released its game industry investigation report for the epidemic prevention and control period. The data reveals that mobile game market revenue from January to March reached a record high of nearly 55 billion yuan (7.7 billion US dollars), with a year-over-year growth rate of more than 49 percent.
The Gamma Data report also shows that, among companies listed in the game business, the percentage of those with net profit growth of more than 30, 50, and 100 percent exceeds that of the previous year. For certain gaming companies, year-over-year net profit growth exceeded 200 percent.
Besides such encouraging economic figures, we feel it important to highlight the contribution the video game industry has made and can continue making to society. During the period of epidemic prevention and control, many game companies donated money and resources, actively assumed social responsibility through campaigns such as #PlayApartTogether, and encouraged players to stay home.
Big revenue shift in top 50 game genres
A deeper look into the Q1 2020 data reveals a shift in China’s top 50 mobile game genres compared to the same period last year. Though they remain among the top four genres, the popularity of ARPG, MOBA, and especially turn-based RPG games has declined significantly.
Taking a new place at the top, FPS games have increased greatly in popularity and become a big player in the top 50 games division. Much of this success can be attributed to the market performance of “Game for Peace” and “CrossFire: Legends” from January to March. Similarly, the market performance of “AFK Arena” has propelled idle games into the top 50 genres.
In conclusion
The government has praised the response of China’s gaming industry to the Coronavirus pandemic, which included providing prevention and control resources to help employees return to work and developing unified ordering and health reporting systems.
At Yodo1, we are strictly following government guidelines to ensure the safety and well-being of all our teams.
We hope that all of our brothers and sisters in the gaming industry are keeping healthy and safe.
About Yodo1
Yodo1 is a game platform company that helps developers better market, manage, and monetize their games. Our AI-powered tools and global expertise in areas such as mobile ads, community management, and digital IP licensing enable partners to increase playtime, revenue, and retention. Our vision is to open the world of gaming success to anyone with the talent to develop. To learn more, visit www.yodo1.com and follow us on Linkedin.
