Chinese firms make inroads into US mobile gaming market

Chinese companies are doing "outstandingly well" in the North American mobile game market, which is growing steadily and is a good place for homegrown developers who want to grow internationally.

According to a report by Nasdaq-listed Trade Desk and researcher NielsenIQ, 12 Chinese mobile games are among the top 50 highest-earning mobile games in the US.

The US mobile game market is expected to reach US$22.8 billion in 2022, representing a nearly 50 percent increase over 2019. According to the report, "heavy" players in the United States spend eight hours or more per week on mobile games, and many play while watching television.

In the first half of 2022, spending on mobile games in international markets increased by 27 percent compared to the same period in 2019. A report by Google and Ipsos claimed that players spent an average of 5.3 hours per week on mobile games since the pandemic.

Shanghai-based developer miHoyo has approximately 7 million Twitter followers for its popular title Genshin Impact. In addition to the mobile version, the game is now available on the personal computer and PlayStation consoles.

The Google report said that about 71 percent of US mobile game players are willing to buy console versions of the games they are playing for better image and synchronization experiences.

"The popularity of Chinese mobile games entering the North American market is increasing. They deliver outstanding performance," said Ashely Wu, the business development director of The Trade Desk China.

Wu added that the firms still need multi-channel branding and high-quality media to promote themselves rather than traditional "traffic buying."

It is a natural choice for domestic firms to expand overseas. The Chinese mobile game market's revenue increased by 7.6 percent in 2021, compared with 32.6 percent growth in 2020.

Companies such as Amazon, Google and Trade Desk are providing tech tools to help them accelerate their expansion, including digital marketing, smart distribution and cloud services, industry officials said.

On Tuesday, Amazon announced three new features for the gaming industry on AWS, the world's leading public cloud service.

The features allow developers to generate visual effects, animations and interactive content in the cloud to improve development efficiency and add new features without stopping the game, keeping players engaged and extending the game's life cycle, Amazon said.