Reports

China’s mobile gaming market - including both single-player games and mobile online games - began to accelerate in 2013, with H1 2013 revenue jumping 38.5% HoH and 126.0% YoY to reach RMB 5.04 billion (USD 814 million), and the user base increasing 12.6% HoH and 51.2% YoY to hit 322 million during the period. Driven by strong uptake of sub-RMB 1,000 smartphones, market value is expected to exceed RMB 12.33 billion (USD 2.02 billion) in 2013.

As the market has ramped up, M&A activity in China’s mobile gaming sector has boomed, with at least 10 M&A deals announced or completed in Q3 2013 alone, and almost all of China’s top 20 unlisted mobile game developers becoming acquisition targets. Several Chinese mobile game companies, including Linekong and Chukong, are targeting IPOs in 2014.

To help investors and game industry enterprises identify opportunities among China’s burgeoning number of mobile game titles, developers, operators, and distribution channels, Marbridge has developed the Chinese Mobile Gaming Industry Matrix. The Q3 2013 edition of the Matrix provides details on over 60 leading mobile game companies and approximately 190 of the top games in Excel (read-only) format:

• Listing Status (public, to list, private)
• Location (city in which operator/developer is headquartered)
• Company Homepage URL
• Company Contact Phone Number
• Experience in Overseas Game Publishing (specific examples available for ~20% of companies)
• Games Operated/Developed (with top grossing games highlighted)
• Game Environment (Android, iOS, WP)
• Game Type
• Game Dates (expected release, beta test, commercial launch)
• Game Source (self-developed vs. licensed)
• Revenue Model (pay-to-play vs. in-game items)
• Game Operation Statistics (DAU, monthly revenue, cumulative downloads - as available)
• Game Homepage URL

The Chinese Mobile Gaming Industry Matrix also provides data on China’s top 20 mobile app/game distribution platforms, including:

• Platform Operator Name
• Investment Received (available for ~30% of platforms)
• Number of Apps Hosted (available for ~40% of platforms; dates vary)
• User Base (available for ~65% of platforms; dates vary)
• Cumulative or Daily App Downloads (available for ~60% of platforms; dates vary)
• Business Model (available for ~30% of platforms)

In addition, the matrix provides a Q2-Q3 summary of Chinese mobile gaming industry news covering:

• M&A Deals (28 items)
• Partnerships (16 items)

The Chinese Mobile Gaming Industry Matrix is available either for one-off purchase or on a subscription basis with quarterly updates.