Guide to Growing Chinese Gaming Apps Overseas

Jul, 2024 Guide to Growing

Chinese Gaming

Apps Overseas

2024

Download PDF

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Contents

Highlights & Methodology

Introduction

Going Global: At a Glance

Creative Benchmarks and Insights

Ad Creative Insights From Top Games

G
ameplay and Monetization Trends

Abo
ut
Us

2

3

4

5

10

17

28

33

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

3

Highlights &

Methodology

CPI

South Korea, Japan, and the US have high CPIs and are highly

competitive markets for Chinese games. Malaysia and the

Philippines have comparatively lower CPIs.

ITI Conversion Rates

In the US and Canada, costs are higher overall, but conversion rates

are also higher than in other markets.

D7 ROAS

EMEA has the highest average ROAS for Chinese games at 17%. Video ads

offer the best average ROAS at 21%.

Monetization Tip: Time-Limited Offers

Implement trial characters and innovate on time-limited gachas that tap

into player FOMO to shore up your monetization strategy.

Top Advertisers

The top advertiser in H1 of 2024 (by number of unique creatives) was

Legend of Mushroom. On Android, it was Tycoon Casino Vegas Slot

Games.

Liftoff data is based on

data from

May 1, 2023 – June 15, 2024

7.9B

Clicks

Data for the report comes from
GameRefinery
,
Accelerate
, Liftoff’s programmatic

advertising solution, and
SocialPeta
, a creative intelligence platform.

SocialPeta data is based on ad creative data from January 1, 2024 – June 30, 2024

133B

Impressions

18M

Installs

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Finding Success in Overseas Markets

4

There’s no doubt about it. Chinese games have found an audience in the global

market.

According to Business of Apps
, China makes up over 31% of worldwide

mobile gaming revenue. As giants like Tencent and NetEase dominate the ROI charts

worldwide, Chinese gaming revenue is expected to top $39.6 billion globally by 2027.

For game developers in China, tackling overseas markets is now a core part of their

growth strategy. Yet, while there is no shortage of successful examples, there is still

plenty of room to grow. Market penetration in many regions remains limited.

Earnings from more saturated markets

like the US, Japan, and South Korea still make

up more than half of Chinese gaming’s earnings from other countries.

Chinese game developers need a focused strategy to succeed internationally,

especially in newer markets. They must adapt their games for foreign audiences

and adopt a hyper-localized approach to UA that speaks to their target markets. To

stay competitive, developers also need to keep up with new gaming and

monetization trends across different regions.

Going global isn’t easy, but Liftoff’s new guide, featuring data from
SocialPeta
, a top

ad intelligence platform, is designed to help. We cover cost and ROI and install

conversion benchmarks across key regional markets, as well as insights into ad

creative and localization trends. We also asked the experts from GameRefinery to

pinpoint winning monetization and engagement trends to help developers and

marketers deliver tangible ROI.

“Increased privacy regulations and more competition

from international games can make overseas growth

harder to come by. But Chinese games can gain an

advantage by prioritizing quality users in mature

markets and tapping into new, emerging markets with a

focused long-term strategy.”

Joey Fulcher

SVP, Global Demand Sales, Liftoff

Going Global: At a

Glance

Chinese Mobile Games CPI, by Region

Chinese Mobile Games CPI, by Country

Chinese Mobile Games D7 ROAS, by Region

A Closer Look: Chinese Games in the US Market

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Chinese games have found an audience across multiple markets in every region, but

different target markets also have varied costs. Parts of North America—the US in

particular—are highly competitive markets and this is reflected in the costs.

On iOS, costs per install (CPI) in North America are over 2x what they are in APAC. As

Chinese games make headway in LATAM, there are more opportunities to scale. CPIs

on both platforms are much lower than in other regions.

The Cost of UA in Different

Overseas Markets

6

Chinese Games Average CPI by Region, by Platform

(in USD)

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

As key markets for Chinese games, South Korea, Japan, and the US are highly

competitive in terms of user acquisition. The US averages $7.68 per install, just

under South Korea at $8.02. Although these markets are costly, they are also

essential to building loyal user base for many games.

Chinese games are also making headway in Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Countries including Malaysia and the Philippines are more cost effective per user.

Brazil, also an emerging market for Chinese games, averages around $0.70 per

install.

Chinese Games Average CPI by Country

(in USD)

7

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Chinese games have higher D7 ROAS than global averages. The difference may be the

number of established midcore games with sustainable revenue models. But it’s

important to note that campaign ROI for individual games will vary dramatically.

We see that EMEA has the highest ROAS out of all 4 regions at 17.1%. Although North

America represents a mature market for Chinese games, it has a comparatively lower

average ROAS—likely as a result of stiff competition and higher costs.

Chinese Games Average D7 ROAS by Region

“Succeeding in overseas markets is about

understanding your audience and having a localized

strategy. Work with a partner who can help connect you

with quality users from the start and build relationships

with local influencers to set your game apart.”

Rebecca Zhou, Senior Account Executive, Liftoff

8

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

A Closer Look: Chinese

Games in the US Market

9

The US is a key market for nearly all game developers. For Chinese publishers, the market

accounts for enormous ad spend but also delivers high returns. We took a look at the top 200

highest-grossing US publishers on iOS. Here’s a snapshot of top revenue-generating Chinese

games:

Chinese game publishers have a strong presence in the US market,

especially in strategy and RPG.

More than one-third of top-grossing games come from Chinese publishers, an indicator

of a healthy but also highly competitive market. Chinese publishers dominate midcore

staples like RPGs and strategy in particular.

For example, in 4x strategy, Chinese publishers account for a whopping 88% market

share led by titles such as Last War: Survival and Whiteout Survival. Top RPG titles include

AFK Journey, Honkai: Star Rail, and Genshin Impact.

“China’s mobile gaming industry has demonstrated

exceptional growth in international markets thanks to

their high-quality development and adaptability. Hits

like ‘Genshin Impact’ and ‘PUBG Mobile’ have

captivated players worldwide and set new standards

for revenue and engagement, proving the global

appeal of Chinese gaming companies.”

Kalle Heikkinen

Chief Game Analyst, China, GameRefinery

34%

of the top 200 US games on iOS come from Chinese publishers

48%

of RPG games come from Chinese publishers

69%

of strategy games come from Chinese publishers

Creative Benchmarks

& Insights

ITI Conversion Rates, by Country

CPI and CPA by Ad Format

D7 ROAS by Ad Format

Insights: Connect Across Markets With Video

Popular Art Styles Across Different Regions

Insights: Embrace
Gen AI
for Localization

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Impression-to-Install

Conversion Rates

Average ITIs vary depending on market penetration and across higher-value

regions and lower-value regions. Comparatively, Japan proves a more

challenging market to drive conversions. Asian markets including South Korea

and Australia have ITI conversion rates that are 3x that of Japan.

In places like the US and Canada, where costs are higher and markets are more

saturated, ITI rates are also higher. Impressions there are four times as likely to

result in an install than in Japan.

Country

2024 Average ITI Rates

(Jan-Jun 2024)

Japan

1x

South Korea

3x

Australia

3x

US

4x

Great Britain

4x

Canada

4x

Germany

4.5x

South Africa

5x

A key factor in determining UA spend allocation is how well marketing

levers—creative testing and campaign optimization—impact performance where

the rubber meets the road. Impression-to-install (ITI) rates capture just that. Below,

we compare ITI rates for Chinese games by country:

11

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Chinese Games CPI,

CPA by Ad Format

Looking at Chinese games across all markets, we found that video ads have lower

average CPI and average CPA post-install.

Banner, native, and interstitial ads post higher CPAs, showing that users who click tend

to be less engaged post-install. Banner ads especially post the highest CPA at $1.87,

over 3x the cost of native ads and 18x that of video ads.

Longer videos can be surprisingly effective at attracting

valuable users—
o
n Liftoff Direct, spending on video ads over

40 seconds long grew 245% year-over-year.

Learn more in
Liftoff’s 2024 Mobile Ad Creative Index

Did You

Know?

12

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Chinese Games, D7 ROAS

by Ad Format

For many gaming publishers across all markets, ROAS is still the determining metric for

marketing success. If we look at the average D7 ROAS for Chinese games across ad

formats, video ads provide the highest returns by a significant margin (~21% compared

to 10-15% for other formats).

Native ads deliver the second-best returns at 15%. It can be a very successful format,

albeit highly dependent on context and placement. Interstitial and banner ads deliver

lower D7 ROAS, but since they are less costly to produce and place, they can offer

greater reach.

13

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Insights: Connect Across

Markets With Video

Video ads are engaging for users, easy to combine with playables,

and proven to increase ROI. So, how do you leverage them to break

into new markets?

14

MAKE CORE GAMEPLAY YOUR CENTERPIECE

We find that showing off core gameplay

drives higher ROAS. This is especially

important in higher-cost markets where

games need to drive revenue from the start.

Attract stickier users by showing authentic,

representative gameplay.

UNLOCK NEW LEVELS/CHALLENGES

Many players are motivated by a new

challenge. Try adding graphics to “unlock a

new level.” It’s also a smart way to

showcase different styles of gameplay and

an easy method to introduce a minigame.

WORK WITH A LOCAL INFLUENCER

Audiences are more likely to try a game

recommended by someone they trust.

Especially in a new market, having an

influencer walk users through gameplay

lends your game much-needed credibility.

Liftoff UGC creatives increased ROAS by 4x

when tested against branded content.

Work with a local creator to unlock a new

audience for your game.

Learn more from
Liftoff’s Creative Studio
.

Bonus Tip
: Remember to
always keep your

logo visible
—even if the user doesn’t install in

the moment, they’ll remember the app.

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Popular Art Styles

Across Different Regions

15

Aesthetic preferences vary across countries. When adapting games and ads for a new

region, it’s essential to consider local players’ visual preferences. We examined popular art

styles from two key markets—Japan and the US—in contrast with those in China’s domestic

market.

In China, realistic graphics are more popular, followed by manga and cartoon styles. While

about a third of top Chinese games prefer manga, it’s the dominant art style in Japan,

favored by close to 50% of the top-grossing gaming apps.

In contrast, realistic and cartoon graphics are favored in the US, but only 5% of gaming apps

feature a manga art style.

Art styles based on GameRefinery data for the top 200 highest-grossing gaming apps for

iOS in three countries

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Insights: Embrace Gen AI

for Localization

In the past year, a new caliber of AI-based creative tools has exploded onto

the scene. While the industry is still developing best practices, one of the

most exciting applications for gen AI is localizing ad creative. Here are a

few tips to harness its power.

16

TRY VOICE LOCALIZATION WITH AI

Working with actors or voice over actors?

With Gen AI, you can easily translate voices

into any language. But scale carefully and

focus on local flavor. Incorporating local

sayings and catchphrases can spark a

connection with a regional audience.

LOCALIZE THE DETAILS

Localizing key elements like CTA copy or

button colors can provide a performance

boost to campaigns serving global geos.

With Gen AI, it’s possible to test and scale at

speed—so take advantage!

PRIORITIZE BRAND PROTECTION

If you’re working with licensed IP, or even if

you’re not, be careful about generating

voice-overs or assets from scratch. It’s

essential to be brand-compliant—especially

when scaling in new markets.

Easily translate voice and copy with gen AI.

At Liftoff, we believe the Gen AI revolution is

about speed, efficiency, and scale. Learn

more about
what Gen AI can do here
.

Ad Creative Insights

From Top Games

H1 2024 Top 20 Chinese Mobile Games, by Unique Ads

Insights: Light SLG

Insights: Legend of Mushroom

Insights:
Block Blast!

Insights:
AFK Journey

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

So which games are winning the advertising wars? SocialPeta looked at the top 20 games

by number of unique advertisements on each platform. iOS was dominated by Legend of

Mushroom,
マジックカード
, and Block Puzzle.

H1 2024 Top 20 Chinese Mobile

Games, by Number of Unique Ads

18

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Android sees many of the same games, but has a slightly different profile. Casual game

Block Blast!
still features in the top four, but the top slot belongs to Tycoon Casino. The Grand

Mafia rounds out the top three, and Legend of Mushroom features in number 12.

H1 2024 Top 20 Chinese Mobile

Games, by Number of Unique Ads

19

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Insights: Light

SLG

Advertising Data

Start date: 3/2023

Total deduplicated

creatives: 22.1K

Last War:Survival

A mixed light SLG
by First Fun

In H1, Light SLG topped revenue charts for Chinese games released

globally. This is mainly due to their perfect integration of a

parkour-shooter mini-game into SLG gameplay.

20

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Channel
：

Estimated Impressions
：
10M

Features:
The game’s ad creatives

showcase “
parkour and shooting to

level-up
,” and the minigames are highly

integrated with the game itself.

Additionally,
live-action elements
are

added to make the game’s ad creatives

more convincing.

Click to play the complete creative

21

9.7%

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Insights: Legend

of Mushroom

Advertising Data

Start date: 2/2023

Total deduplicated

creatives: 27.2K

Legend of Mushroom

A globally released minigame

by 4399

Legend of Mushroom was the best among all minigames scaling globally

in H1 2024. First released in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, it soon

launched in South Korean, Japanese, English, and Southeast Asian

versions.

22

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Channel
：

Duration
：
93 Days

Features:
AIGC ad creatives are a new marketing

trend among game advertisers in 2024. The

following creative is an example of AI image with

animation effects, providing better overall quality

and leaving space for the imagination. “Free

3000 Pulls” are also an attractive offer.

Click to play the complete creative

23

5.7%

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Insights: Block

Blast!

Advertising Data

Start date: 4/2022

Total deduplicated

creatives: 86.1K

Block Blast!

A classic block-matching

game
by Hungry Studio

The game topped the App Store chart for free games in the US for

over 100 days, acquiring a vast number of players thanks to its

classic block-matching gameplay.

24

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Channel
：

Release Date
：
1/23/2024

Features:
Creatives for classic casual games are

sometimes the hardest to get right. Typically,

these ad creatives showcase gameplay, but the

trick is to add something unique to make the

game seem exciting and innovative. Players

respond to this ad from Block Blast!, for example,

because of its distinctive sound effects—a

metallic ding followed by a kaboom.

Click to play the complete

creative

25

42.8%

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Insights:

AFK Journey

Advertising Data

Start date: 4/2023

Total deduplicated

creatives: 18.7K

AFK Journey

An Adventure Idle RPG

by Lilith Games

A sequel to the popular RPG AFK Arena, the game topped the

charts for free games immediately after its release in many

regions, including the US, Canada, and the UK.

26

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Channel
：

Estimated Impressions: 2.4M

Features:
Key Opinion Leader (KOL) advertising

has become an effective and efficient way of

marketing newly-released games. A game can

quickly build its user base by working with online

celebrities whose audience matches its target

audience.

Click to play the complete creative

27

22.1%

Gameplay and

Monetization Trends

Innovations in Gameplay: Social Hangout & Home Systems

Monetization Trends: Trial Characters & Items

Monetization Trends: Limited-Time Gachas

Engagement Success Story: Gossip Harbor

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Innovations in Gameplay:

Social Hangouts & Home

Systems

29

Alliance Hall in State of Survival, for example, is a

social hangout space where players can plan

social events, decorate, and interact with other

alliance members in various ways.

Players can also unlock rewards and resources

to decorate and personalize their space by

participating in events.

PUBG Mobile has a home system that lets

players build, decorate, and customize their

own islands. Players can also use special

currencies to purchase furniture and upgrades.

This feature has a welcome social component,

as players can visit friends’ islands and

participate in events. They can also collect

coins, upgrade & decorate “butler” characters,

and enjoy an exclusive gacha system.

Consistent user engagement brings sustainable ROI, so how do Chinese

game publishers who find success overseas keep players engaged? Two

increasingly popular, innovative ways to keep players coming back are

social hangouts and home systems.

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Monetization Trends:

Trial Characters & Items

30

Players can own these characters for a period of time with temporary trials, but

permanent ownership requires a purchase.

In many instances, it’s also possible for players to obtain the character permanently by

collecting enough resources or currencies—for example, by participating in events or

increasing game engagement. Either way, the pathway to ownership is monetized

through games that offer attractive ways to obtain resources or currencies.

Trial characters are an excellent solution for balancing character variety with

monetization. As an alternative, some Chinese games also “rent” characters to players,

allowing players to purchase a character for a limited spell.

Character Trial in Genshin Impact (left), Character Trial in AFK Arena (right)

Introducing new characters and items is essential to evolving any game.

But how do you introduce your new, amazing characters without impacting

monetization? Many Chinese games get around the problem by offering

trial versions of characters.

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Monetization Trends:

Limited-Time Gachas

31

Limited-time gachas are great monetization tools, and they’ve been combined with several

new innovations in gacha mechanics from Chinese publishers:

●
For box gachas, each pull removes an item from the pool, making subsequent pulls

more attractive.

●
In-gacha shops grant players a special currency for making gacha pulls. The

currency can then be used in a dedicated shop.

●
Players can be rewarded for gacha pull milestones after pulling the gacha a set

number of times.

Additionally, we’ve seen heavy monetization through minigame-like events, such as bingo or

diceboards. “Gamifying” monetization events this way can make them more exciting for

players, boosting engagement.

Diceboard event in SOULS (left), Box Gacha in CoD: Mobile (right)

Gachas are a great way to increase monetization depth. They’re especially

popular for RPG, shooter, and 4x strategy genres. One way to enhance their

appeal is to make them time-limited, tapping into player FOMO.

GROWING CHINESE GAMING APPS OVERSEAS

Engagement Success

Story: Gossip Harbor

32

When it comes to choice, sometimes more is, well, more. The more expansive the live event

palette, the better the game can cater to different player motivations and audiences. Here

are some examples of what Gossip Harbor has been adding just recently:

●
Seasonal collections album system.

●
A race event (rarely seen in the merge-2 genre).

●
A boost event called
Recharger Perk
, designed to enhance short-time engagement.

●
Frosty Escapades
: An exciting diceboard event with a strong emphasis on

randomness.

Adding new event types can keep the game experience fresh, but remember, monitoring the

competition is crucial. You don’t want to miss out on a new trending event type in your genre.

iOS performance (revenue and downloads) for Gossip Harbor (left), Gossip Harbor’s

Seasonal Collection Album (right)

Gossip Harbor continuously developed their live event palette to increase

event types and cadence—this has helped keep engagement high in a

competitive environment.

Build better mobile games

with GameRefinery, the #1

trusted mobile game

intelligence tool.

Who is

?

Intelligence to Build Better Games

GameRefinery

speaks to game and product teams throughout the development

process, from pre-production to LiveOps, to help them build better games. Leverage

industry-leading market research, competitor intelligence, and player insights.

Improve your LiveOps with

our
Live Events Tracker

Liftoff
helps mobile businesses

maximize their revenue.

It provides machine

learning-powered marketing,

monetization, and creative

solutions that create better ad

experiences and connect people

with the products they love.

www.liftoff.io

Who is Liftoff?

With SocialPeta, you can spy on your competitors’

ad data , and get ad data from networks, media,

and advertisers around the world to inspire you.

SocialPeta covers more than 70 countries/regions

and over 80 well-known ad channels worldwide,

such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Unity.

We provide nearly 1.6 billion ad creatives, updating

millions each day. Through duration, impressions,

popularity, and interactions, we can quickly locate

the active high-quality creatives which will be

provided to you in real time to help

with your marketing plan.

As one of the world-leading advertising and

marketing platforms, SocialPeta boasts a huge

database and the experience of working with

thousands of game companies and providing

mobile game workers with more practical methods

in order to develop more popular games.

Website:
www.socialpeta.com

1.2M

Daily

Updates

6M

App

Advertisers

1.6B

App Ad

Creatives

Who is SocialPeta?