In the world of videogames, sometimes we tend to be a bit shortsighted when it comes to evaluating the top games in the industry on a global level. After all, a game that’s a smash hit in Asia, may end up being unknown in the west, just like we mentioned a while ago with Crossfire. On Android, the geographical disparity is even more drastic since there are marketplaces that are exclusive to Asia like Quooapp and TapTap. That said, we’re going to try take a look far of to distant lands, by presenting the nine most played Android titles in China, courtesy of the trusty market studies completed by NewZoo.
Honor of Kings
This one’s the king of kings in terms of the number of downloads and profits earned. In the west, we known it as Arena of Valor, and thanks to the push from Tencent the title has triumphed all over the world with some unimaginable estimations: $140 million dollars in revenue outside China, having reached $90 million in said country in the first semester of 2018. And they said that MOBAs were dead. [Download]
QQ Racing
Everyone around here is anxious with the news that Mario Kart is going to be released for mobile devices, but the truth is that there’s already a game along these lines that’s successful on the other side of the world. QQ Racing (or QQ Speed, depending on the marketplace) is an online racing game brought to us by Tencent, that follows the standards from the mentioned title from Nintendo to a T. All this is accompanied by K-Pop stars as drivers and an anime feeling worthy of Initial D. [Download]
Onmyoji
A great example of controlled expansion. NetEase released this excellent RPG in 2016 in China and Taiwan, one year later, in Japan, Korea, and Thailand, and eventually released it internationally in English. It wasn’t until the beginning of 2018 when the title was released globally, having already reached 200 million downloads in soft launch. Its high production values and the attractiveness of its setting based on a parody of oriental mythology has even led to the arrival of a spin-off in the form of a MOBA. [Download]
Mini World
It’s the Chinese Minecraft, plain and simple. The base is practically identical to the title from Mojang. That is, procedurally generated settings made from cubes, exploration and crafting, and multiplayer possibilities. Add in the inevitable chaos, typical of Asian productions, in the form of skins and kawaii accessories, and you have the formula for success. And the cherry on top: cross-play with PC and the possibility for players to design their own minigames. The international version is available in 13 languages, including English and Spanish, so there’s really no reason not to give it a try. [Download]
Fantasy Westward Journey
This one’s a veteran in the Chinese market that’s a hard time making it outside its own homeland. The game from NetEase was released for PC way back in 2001, surpassing 300 million registered users a few years ago. This reinterpretation of the classic novel Journey to the West in the form of an MMORPG released its Android version in 2015 but it was never translated and we doubt it ever will be. If you’re brave, here you have it. [Download]
PUBG: Exhilarating Battlefield
There was a lot of hype built up around this game, with everyone eager to enjoy the portable version of the quintessential Battle Royale (sorry, Epic Games). After an agreement between Bluehole and Tencent was made, there were two games based on PlayerUnknown’s Batttlegrounds that were released for Android. One of them is Exhilarating Battlefield that finally ended up being PUBG: Mobile when released internationally in other languages. The Chinese version is still way ahead with each new version released, so if you can’t wait, you can also have both versions installed simultaneously. [Download]
PUBG: Army Attack
The other version of PUBG from the studio Timi is more free-going than the previous one, being focused on offering an experience that’s as close to the original as possible. Army Attack (or PUBG: Marching) follows its own path, offering a wide range of air-borne and water-borne vehicles and various visual improvements. [Download]
Anipop
Most of the examples here have experienced a satisfactory international expansion, but that’s not always the case. Anipop is a match 3 game that’s found among the three most downloaded games in China. An international version was released, but it hasn’t been updated since 2016 and the number of downloads through Google Play was pitiful. Meanwhile, the original app in China continues to be updated and doesn’t stop gaining followers. [Download]
Crossfire Legends
The mobile version of Crossfire was destined to succeed. For years, the original PC version was the most profitable Free-to-Play videogame, until the arrival of the unbeatable League of Legends. Crossfire Legends is an all-in-one game that’s well-designed and includes both the FPS modes from the original title and a Battle Royale variant, in addition to one-player modes. Plus, it’s all designed to run on less powerful devices. That said, there are also plenty of micropayment options and monetization systems. [Download]
