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Guide to Growing Chinese Gaming Apps Overseas: 2024
Chinese gaming applications continue to exert a dominant influence on the global stage, particularly within the strategy and role-playing game segments in mature markets such as the United States, Japan, and South Korea.
- Chinese publishers are maintaining global dominance in strategy and RPG segments by shifting to hyper-localized art styles, specifically manga-inspired visuals for Japan and realistic or cartoon aesthetics for Western markets.
- Generative AI is now a core operational requirement for rapid, compliant localization of ad creative, voice-overs, and marketing copy to manage high costs per install in mature markets like the U.S., Japan, and South Korea.
- High-performing user acquisition campaigns are increasingly utilizing minigames and AI-enhanced visuals to capture player attention in highly competitive environments.
The State of AAA Game Advertising
The analysis demonstrates that 2023 marked a peak in AAA game advertising, with live-service titles such as Fortnite commanding the highest spend (US$57 M) and blockbuster launches—Hogwarts Legacy, Diablo IV, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III—each exceeding US$25 M. YouTube remained the dominant channel (35% of spend), yet…
- AAA game advertising peaked in 2023, with top live-service titles like Fortnite spending US$57M and major launches including Hogwarts Legacy, Diablo IV, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III each exceeding US$25M.
- YouTube remains the primary advertising channel at 35% of total spend, though publishers are increasingly diversifying into Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram to reach broader audiences.
- Activision Blizzard and Epic Games led the market in 2023, each allocating over US$70M to U.S. campaigns for both new intellectual properties and established franchises.
Liftoff Report: Mobile Ad Creative Index 2024
The report presents a comprehensive analysis of mobile ad creative performance across four key app verticals—gaming, e-commerce, finance, and entertainment—for the period January 1 2023 to January 1 2024.
- Gaming ads utilizing video or playable formats are over 20 times more likely to drive installs compared to banner ads.
- Native ads represent the most cost-effective acquisition channel, averaging a $1.80 CPI across the analyzed verticals.
- E-commerce apps achieve the highest install-to-action (ITA) rates exceeding 30% through native and banner formats, which also maintain the lowest acquisition costs between $2.57 and $3.23.
Marketing Insights into Global Mobile Games & Minigames in 2024
The analysis outlines global mobile game advertising trends for 2024, drawing on a database of over 1.6 billion ad creatives from more than 70 countries and 80 media channels, including Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Unity, and WeChat.
- The mobile game advertising market is shifting toward higher creative turnover, with the proportion of advertisers releasing new creatives rising to 55% in the second half of 2024 and new creatives accounting for 65% of total ad volume.
- WeChat minigames have become a significant market force, reaching RMB 60 billion in 2023 with a user base averaging one hour of daily engagement, led primarily by RPG/SLG hybrid titles.
- Casino games saw over 10% year-over-year growth in advertising activity, while casual games experienced a 3% decline, and RPG and puzzle genres maintained stable market positions.
Mobile App Predictions for 2024
Mobile market analysts project a dynamic yet uneven 2024 landscape, with generative AI and video-first platforms driving growth while text-centric microblogging contracts.
- Global app store revenue is projected to reach $111.4 billion in 2024, a 4% rebound following a 3% decline in 2023, with the U.S. driving 80% of this growth.
- Gaming expenditure is forecast to rise 4% to $111 billion, with primary growth concentrated in RPG, match-making, party, and casino titles across the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, and the UK.
- TikTok is expected to reach $16 billion in lifetime consumer spend by the end of 2024, with average monthly user hours projected to increase from 32.5 hours in October 2023 to 40 hours by December 2024.
Inside Gaming: It's Personal!
The report examines how video games increasingly serve as a platform for personal identity and self-expression, noting that nearly two thirds of gamers feel they can be more authentic while playing.
- Nearly two-thirds of gamers report feeling more authentic while playing than in their daily lives, a sentiment that has driven a 30% increase in time spent gaming among those who view these platforms as spaces for self-presentation.
- In-game character customization is the primary driver of self-expression for 76% of players, significantly outpacing other features like usernames (48%) and communication tools or emotes (30–35%).
- Fandom’s 2024 data indicates a psychological disconnect where gamers maintain distinct online personas that they perceive as separate from their real-life identities.
AI's Everyday Evolution: The Expanding Role of Chatbots in Consumer Life
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence chatbots is fundamentally altering consumer behavior, signaling a shift away from the long-standing dominance of traditional search engines.
- ChatGPT reached 500 million global monthly active users by early 2025, marking the fastest growth for any application in the last decade.
- In April 2025, ChatGPT experienced a 60% increase in session frequency and a 270% jump in web visits, while traditional search engine engagement declined by 3%.
- The utility of AI is shifting from technical tasks to complex personal management, with software development prompts dropping from 44% to 29% of the total share between early 2024 and 2025.
Supercharged: Powering the Future of the UK Video Game and Interactive Entertainment Industry
The new five-year strategy and action plan sets out a comprehensive roadmap for the UK video-games and interactive-entertainment sector, positioning it as the world’s leading hub for new intellectual property and innovation by 2030.
- The UK video game industry has launched a five-year strategy aiming to establish the nation as the global leader in intellectual property and innovation by 2030.
- The 2024-25 action plan prioritizes lobbying for more competitive tax reliefs, increased investment, and the introduction of a Digital Creativity GCSE.
- Strategic efforts to strengthen the workforce include the expansion of the #RaiseTheGame diversity, equity, and inclusion programme and the creation of a sector-wide skills network.
Insight into 2024 Marketing Trends for Japanese Mobile Games
The Japanese mobile gaming market is characterized by a conservative but highly specialized marketing landscape, where local companies maintain a dominant revenue position.
- Japanese firms dominate the domestic market, holding nine of the top ten revenue spots on the App Store, while Chinese developers account for 30% of the top 100 grossing titles.
- RPG titles are the most lucrative genre in Japan, representing 32% of the top 100 revenue-generating games on Google Play.
- Marketing in Japan is characterized by low creative turnover, with only 62.23% of advertisers using new creatives and a total new creative volume of 29.77%, both significantly below global averages.
Mobile App Trends: 2024 Edition
The mobile app industry demonstrated significant resilience throughout 2023, characterized by a global advertising spend of $362 billion and a late-year surge in installations.
- Fintech and e-commerce drove significant market growth in 2023, with fintech seeing a 42% increase in installs and a 118% surge in in-app revenue.
- E-commerce performance remained strong with a 43% year-over-year rise in installs and a 34% increase in revenue.
- Banking sector efficiency improved significantly as eCPIs dropped from $2.33 to $1.37, enabling faster return on investment for marketers.
Inside Gaming: It's Personal! 2024
Gaming has evolved into a primary medium for identity formation and self-expression, with nearly two-thirds of players reporting that they feel more authentic while gaming than in their daily lives.
- 46% of gamers now prioritize creation and imagination as their primary motivation for playing, representing a 10% year-over-year increase.
- Games that facilitate self-expression through customization, open worlds, and constant updates—such as Roblox, Fortnite, and The Sims—achieve 60% higher engagement than industry norms.
- 72% of consumers report they would view brands more favorably if those companies helped them translate their gaming-inspired self-expression into real-world products, skills, or lifestyle alignments.
How To Make A Game Alone (In 2024)
The development of the viral indie title Choo Choo Charles serves as a case study for solo game development, emphasizing the importance of rapid prototyping, strategic asset utilization, and aggressive pre-launch marketing.
- Prioritize early market validation by creating a trailer and Steam page within the first month of development to gauge interest and accumulate wishlists, which reached 550,000 for Choo Choo Charles.
- Maintain a 'tools down' policy one month before launch, finalizing the game build early to dedicate the final weeks exclusively to marketing, press releases, and influencer outreach.
- Utilize a Game Design Document (GDD) to organize core mechanics and scope, focusing on a unique, viral hook—such as a horror-themed train—while leaving specific mission and AI details to be developed during production.