Distribution platform Flexion has announced a new partnership with gaming giant NetEase to bring its hit game Vikingard to alternative app stores.
The game has been released on Huawei’s AppGallery, the Amazon Appstore, the ONE store, and the Samsung Galaxy Store through the new partnership.
“NetEase Games is one of the world’s top developers, so we’re delighted they chose to work with Flexion,” said Flexion CEO Jens Lauritzson. “We’ll start immediately with growing Vikingard’s revenue and audience on the alternative app stores with our tried and tested distribution services. We look forward to growing our partnership with NetEase.”
Flexion states that bringing games to alternative app stores can add an additional 10% on average to a game’s revenue on top of Google Play earnings, at little additional cost to developers.
The importance of variety
Alternative app stores have become a hot topic within the mobile games space in recent years. While Google Play and the App Store remain the biggest platforms for app discovery, the commission fee charged by both companies can see developers and publishers losing substantial revenue. Alternative app stores allow game makers and consumers alike a greater freedom of choice.
Notably, China, one of the world’s foremost mobile markets and home of NetEase, has long imposed a ban on Google Play, meaning that publishers lose out on substantial revenue in the space. Releasing on alternative app stores can therefore help Vikingard reach a wider audience within the country.
Flexion has steadily built a name for itself publishing titles on alternative app stores, signing deals with the likes of tap4fun and Fingersoft. However, this new deal with NetEase marks the company’s biggest collaboration yet.
NetEase remains one of the world’s biggest mobile developers, however 2022 proved to be a challenging year. The company’s title Diablo Immortal was the subject of a lengthy delay in China, and it was one of the first companies in line for a US audit. The company also ended its long-standing partnership with Blizzard. Although the company has been diversifying its revenue stream with investments and acquisitions in the PC and console space, bringing Vikingard to alternative app stores could serve to boost the company’s revenue in the mobile space.
We listed NetEase the top mobile game maker of 2022.
