1 free read left. Create a free account for unlimited reading + AI research.

Create free account

PocketGamer.biz27 Jan 2015

How Goodgame Studios bought Empire: Four Kingdoms to China

Key insights

5 takeaways

01
Goodgame Studios entered the Chinese market with a low-risk, iterative strategy for 'Empire: Four Kingdoms,' beginning with a localized iOS launch in October 2014 to test viability before committing to infrastructure changes.
02
Goodgame Studios initiated its exploratory phase in 2013 with visits to Beijing to assess the landscape differences between the Chinese market and Western regions.
03
The studio identified the fragmented Chinese Android ecosystem as a primary challenge, noting that low-end device prevalence complicates monetization compared to the iOS segment.
04
The expansion strategy prioritizes long-term market learning and product refinement over immediate revenue generation to better understand the technical and behavioral requirements of Chinese players.
05
To scale distribution, the company is actively collaborating with local publishers and third-party Android app stores, specifically targeting platforms like 360, Xiaomi, and 91.

Ask AI about this video

Transcript

okay Republic gamer connects London I'm TT ended up is Chara from from good game so your German studio very well hope it for that but you've been going global so you were talking about that China so tell us boy was trying to important to you and how did you approach that market yeah I mean we saw that we are globally very very successful and I'm we decided to see what's going on in the Asia market and then we decided to publish our game on the Apple iOS store in China to see without changing the content without without investing that much time just changing the locale the language to a simplified Chinese to see how the game will do to try an experiment experiment to see how what's going on in China and what can we do to be successful in China of course it's the long-term plan it's

not a something what will happen from today tomorrow you know as you know everyone is trying to go to China and it's a huge market and I will decide to do it with Apple it's easy just need to change the language to be on the listed on the app store in China so after that we saw it's going for good okay and we are already discussing with a lot of publishers as fans and chill Kong u1 et cetera and then we said okay what can we do and we don't want it to be you don't want it to happen you know we just want to have an overview of the market that's what we said without investing that much time what can we do so that's why we met was in November 2013 actually was in Beijing and then I visit 360 and their office and I we said ok without changing the content and changing anything just except off the language we can do something and it took us a year until we were ready because I mean we're because

of a global strategy and then we launched them and today I can say it was launched in October 2014 and today I can say it was it was successful not in terms of revenues now we don't have earned that much revenues but it was good to see what's possible for our former games but we will bring our two because we want to be successful in long term that's why it was a really good step and we are sure that we will be successful with these learnings I think you say a lot people gonna get into China expect to kind of money straight away and they think what I things happen quickly but Chinese market is so different for all markets and the main problem is that in in terms of making big revenues in China is there are too many low and devices and submit and devices and that this is this is the main problem you cannot target like I mean of course an iOS device is so expensive that means

automatically if someone can spend money on buying an iOS device he has money he can spend money in game so and on Android there are 20 for 20 bucks you can get them get in Android device and you can download the game but will you spend money on it so it's so what are your plans for this year we need you kind of wonder if your strategy games I guess these things strategy games kind of thing that will appeal to the Chinese market yeah definitely now we are just observing the market and decide that we we are going to improve the game I have good Empire four kingdoms good 360 and we will try to get the best out of this deal and out of this game in the market and we saw that of course we are talking to Xiaomi and nine one why lazy and other third-party app stores and we will we will also try

will also launch our games on those platform to see what how these platforms are working for us to decide and and during the year which one which of these app stores will be purpose the moment before to hearing or hearing what your size yeah happy to be here thank you for a time good thank you Thanks

Summary

Goodgame Studios, a German developer, has pursued a strategic expansion into the Chinese mobile gaming market to leverage its global success in the free-to-play strategy genre. The primary objective of this entry was to gain a foundational understanding of the Chinese landscape through a low-risk, iterative approach. By initially launching Empire: Four Kingdoms on the Apple iOS App Store with only localized language support, the studio sought to test market viability without significant upfront investment in content modification or infrastructure.

The expansion process, which began with exploratory visits to Beijing in 2013, highlighted the stark differences between the Chinese market and Western regions. A critical challenge identified is the fragmentation of the Android ecosystem, where the prevalence of low-end, inexpensive devices complicates monetization efforts. Unlike the iOS segment, where device ownership serves as a proxy for disposable income, the Android market requires a more nuanced strategy to convert users who may lack the financial capacity for in-game spending.

Following the October 2014 launch, the studio shifted its focus toward long-term growth rather than immediate revenue generation. Current efforts involve collaborating with local publishers and exploring third-party Android app stores, such as 360, Xiaomi, and 91, to broaden distribution. By observing performance across these diverse platforms, the company aims to refine its product offerings and identify the most effective channels for future titles. This methodical approach underscores a commitment to learning the unique technical and behavioral requirements of Chinese players, ensuring that subsequent releases are better optimized for the specific demands of the region.