[China Dominates Korean Games] 3 of Top 10 Play Store Games Are Chinese-Made... "Remarkable Progress"

Many Chinese Games Rank High in Sales
Improving Gameplay Prevents User Churn...Maintaining Popularity

The Chinese onslaught in the domestic mobile game market is fierce. Not only do Chinese games occupy top spots in revenue rankings, but they also continuously attract 'loyal users,' sustaining their popularity. As the popularity of Chinese games does not fade quickly, a sense of crisis is growing in the domestic mobile game market.

According to application analytics firm Mobile Index on the 28th, as of the 26th, Chinese games swept the top ranks in the Google Play Store revenue rankings. Last War: Survival (2nd), Mushroom Keeper (3rd), and WOS: Whiteout Survival (7th) were all within the top 10 in revenue rankings. It has been rare in the past for three Chinese games to simultaneously rank within the top 10 on the Play Store. On the Apple App Store revenue rankings, Mushroom Keeper ranked 1st, Romance of the Three Kingdoms Strategy Edition 3rd, Last War: Survival 4th, and WOS: Whiteout Survival 6th.

Among these, the Mushroom Keeper craze by Joinice Games is particularly fierce. It was launched with a focus on promoting idle role-playing games (RPGs) and has consistently ranked high in revenue. The shooting genre Last War: Survival developed by Chinese game company First Fun and the strategy game WOS: Whiteout Survival by Century Games also rank high in popularity. Romance of the Three Kingdoms Strategy Edition was also developed by a Chinese company called Kuka Games.

An industry insider explained, "Chinese game companies entering the domestic market conduct aggressive marketing backed by massive capital from the huge Chinese game market. While in the past their popularity was brief, recently their offensive has intensified, with many games maintaining top popularity rankings in the domestic mobile market for extended periods."

These Chinese games lure users by exposing numerous advertisements on social networking services (SNS) and other platforms, while preventing user churn with gameplay quality comparable to domestic game companies.

The industry is paying attention to the fact that the revenue rankings of Chinese games are not just a temporary surge but are being maintained continuously. This indicates their significant market influence.

For example, Mushroom Keeper ranked 2nd in combined revenue rankings across Play Store, App Store, and One Store last month, while Last War: Survival ranked 5th. WOS: Whiteout Survival ranked 11th, closely trailing behind. Mushroom Keeper achieved the highest revenue following NCSoft’s Lineage M, ranking 2nd, 1st, and 2nd respectively on Play Store, App Store, and One Store. In monthly user count rankings, 16th-ranked Mushroom Keeper outperformed 74th-ranked Lineage M.

The domestic mobile game industry feels a sense of crisis over the rise of Chinese games. Their capital strength enables them to attract users through advertisements and events, and unlike in the past, they now compete based on game quality rather than sensationalism.

A game company official said, "Chinese games have gradually moved away from attracting users with provocative content; they now have solid gameplay and smooth translations. As Chinese games have grown, the industry is increasingly concerned about developing a variety of games beyond the once-popular mobile MMORPGs."