Chinese gaming apps step up global ambitions

Chinese mobile gaming apps are ratcheting up their efforts to go global, with the gaming app economy showing resilience according to AppsFlyer, an Israeli mobile marketing analytics company.

Wang Wei, general manager of AppsFlyer Greater China, said from 2020 to the first quarter of 2023 Chinese mobile gaming companies have increasingly valued the overseas market.

"Gaming has always occupied about half of Chinese app companies' overseas mobile advertising spending, and looking forward to the future, games are an irreplaceable industry for China's mobile applications to go overseas," Wang added.

The company's latest report, "State of Gaming App Marketing for 2023", showed as the post-Covid era unfolds, a digital slowdown or return to pre-Covid conditions is taking place.

While the effects are becoming increasingly apparent in metrics like overall app installs by consumers, the gaming app economy still showed resilience with nearly $27 billion invested in ad spend by gaming marketers and developers worldwide in 2022 to acquire new users.

Android game app installs rose by 8 percent last year compared to 2021, whereas iOS game app installs showed a small decline, with a 5 percent annual drop.

As for gaming app revenues, the report revealed consumers spent the most on in-app purchases in role playing and social casino games.