Gamma Data, the official collaborator of CADPA (a self-regulation organization for the publishing and entertainment industries in China) has recently published their 2021 Q3 analysis for China’s video game industry.
One of the few key trends shown in this analysis being the domestic mobile game market growth has halted, grossing RMB￥55.47 Billion during the three-month period of this July to September. This is a 0.85% drop comparing to Q2, but still a 9.09% year-on-year growth.
Gama Data believes the halted growth was caused by two reasons, one being longer-running games like Honor of Kings and Onmyoji netting less this quarter when compared to Q2, and some hot new games like Mole Manor in Q2 have run out of steam quicker than expected.
Three new games in Q3 have made it on the top 10 grossing chart, namely Harry Potter: Magic Awakening, LOL Teamfight Tactics, and Doula Continent: Battle of the Soul Masters.
Harry Potter: Magic Awakening is currently the most impressive title, being the only game this year that grossed over 1 Billion RMB in a single month.
There are also multiple casual games to put on the watchlist. Beachcomber King caught the beachcombing trend that is popular on social media and video platforms in China. Games with a faster development cycle would certainly have an advantage in these kinds of scenarios.
Despite the underwhelming domestic performance, the Chinese gaming industry is picking up pace in developing overseas markets. In 2021 Q3, games developed by Chinese studios grossed $4.97 Billion overseas in total, a 12.77% growth over Q2. Genshin Impact, Three Kingdoms Tactics, and Puzzles and Survival are the driving force behind the growth.