Three Strategies of Top Performing Chinese New Year Events in 2022

Key insights

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Key number

Nearly one-tenth of top games doubled their revenue during the 2022 Lunar New Year.

The Lunar New Year holiday is a significant period for the Chinese mobile gaming market, driving substantial spikes in downloads and income.

19 games

Games that doubled income during 2022 Lunar New Year.

Top-grossing games analyzed: 200

Content dump

Arknights achieved a fivefold revenue increase with a content dump and sustained user acquisition.

This strategy relies on high-quality production values, limited-time gacha characters, and continuous user acquisition campaigns.

Content-driven success. Arknights increased its 14-day revenue fivefold by combining a massive content dump with sustained user acquisition campaigns.

Fivefold increase

Arknights' 14-day revenue increase.

Monetization heavy

Fusion Crush utilized a high-volume in-app purchase strategy with cumulative charging mechanics.

This strategy prioritizes a high volume of in-app purchase offers, progressive spending rewards, and complex gacha mechanics.

Revenue capture. Fusion Crush used a high-volume IAP strategy with 'cumulative charging' mechanics that rewarded players for hitting spending thresholds.

10 to 12,000 RMB

Spending thresholds for rewards in Fusion Crush.

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Summary

The Lunar New Year represents the most significant holiday period for the Chinese mobile gaming market, serving as a critical window for developers to maximize revenue and user engagement. During this time, mobile games frequently experience substantial spikes in downloads and income as players seek entertainment during the extended holiday break. Analysis of the top 200 grossing games on the Chinese iOS App Store in 2022 identified 19 titles that at least doubled their revenue during the 14-day holiday window, demonstrating the effectiveness of targeted LiveOps strategies.

Successful event execution generally follows one of three distinct approaches. The content dump strategy, exemplified by Arknights, relies on high-quality production values, limited-time gacha characters, and sustained user acquisition campaigns to drive performance. Alternatively, the innovation-focused approach, utilized by Knives Out, introduces entirely new, non-core gameplay modes—such as obstacle courses—to re-engage veteran players and provide a fresh experience. Finally, the monetization-heavy strategy, seen in Fusion Crush, prioritizes a high volume of in-app purchase offers, progressive spending rewards, and complex gacha mechanics to capture revenue from a broad player base.

The findings suggest that while these strategies can be deployed independently, the most effective outcomes often result from a balanced approach. Developers who combine substantial content updates, strategic user acquisition, innovative gameplay mechanics, and well-structured monetization offers are best positioned to maximize the commercial potential of the Chinese New Year season. These insights highlight the importance of tailoring LiveOps to specific game genres while leveraging the unique spending behaviors prevalent during major cultural holidays.