Sensor Tower: 34 Chinese manufacturers ranked in the top 100 global mobile game publishers' revenue for January, attracting $2.33 billion.

Recently, Sensor Tower released the global revenue ranking of Chinese mobile game publishers in January 2025. According to Rui Ma, the analyst for the Asia-Pacific region, Sensor Tower's store intelligence platform shows that in January 2025, a total of 34 Chinese companies made it to the top 100 global revenue list of mobile game publishers, with a total revenue of $2.33 billion, accounting for 39.2% of the revenue of the top 100 mobile game publishers this period. With the arrival of the Lunar New Year and the launch of Spring Festival activities, the revenue of mobile games in the Chinese iOS market in January 2025 increased by 33% compared to the previous month, a 21% increase from the same period last year. The growth of the top 20 mobile games is particularly significant, with total revenue increasing by 50%. Top 30 Chinese mobile game publishers by revenue Thanks to the significant growth in revenue from multiple games under its belt, Tencent's revenue increased by 62% in this period, maintaining its position as the global leader in revenue among Chinese mobile game publishers. Its flagship products "Honor of Kings," "Peacekeeper Elite," and "Cross Fire" saw global revenue increases of 94%, 267%, and 421% respectively in January. In January, "Honor of Kings" introduced several new skins, including new skins for Ying Zheng and Ji Xiaoman, as well as limited-time Lunar New Year skins, and launched various special events and a large number of benefits during the Spring Festival, resulting in the game achieving its highest monthly revenue in nearly 42 months and reclaiming the top spot on the global January mobile game bestseller list. As NetEase's highest-earning mobile game at the moment, "Identity V" saw a peak in global revenue in January, with a staggering 123% increase, driving NetEase's revenue up by 28% in this period, securing the second spot in the revenue ranking. The game's growth was mainly fueled by the "Call of the Abyss VIII" festival and the opening of the Spring Festival event "Kiln Fire Cleansing Years, Colored Dreams New Year," as well as the launch of the thirty-sixth season, Essence 3. The launch of version 5.3, "The Flame's Resounding Requiem," led to a 106% increase in global revenue for "Genshin Impact" in January, once again making it the highest-earning game under miHoYo, while also driving the publisher's revenue up by 17%, securing the fourth spot in the revenue ranking. On January 20th, the Japanese version of "Azure Lane" celebrated its 4th anniversary, with version updates and new character launches driving the game's January revenue to three times that of December last year. On the other hand, "Arknights" celebrated its 5th anniversary in mid-January in overseas markets, coupled with the launch of a new side story, resulting in a 74% increase in game revenue. Publisher Yostar Network saw a corresponding 49% revenue increase in this period, climbing four spots to rank tenth on the list. The flagship product of Moonton, "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang," saw a 76% increase in global revenue this month, accounting for 40% of the publisher's revenue growth, rising four spots to the 14th spot on the revenue ranking. The launch of events like "StarLight Januari" and the start of the "MLBB & HUNTERHUNTER" collaboration were the main drivers of revenue growth for "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang." The launch of the new 2.0 version "For Silent Voices to Sing Merrily" pushed the revenue of "Impact Singularity" to a new peak, with global revenue in January nearly tripling, leading to a significant increase of 243% in revenue for Kuro Games, reclaiming the 15th spot on the revenue ranking. Florere Game's post-apocalyptic themed 4X strategy mobile games "Dark War Survival" and "Last Z: Survival Shooter" saw revenue increases of 19% and 111% in January, respectively, driving the publisher's revenue up by 29%, rising five spots to the 17th spot on the revenue ranking. Outside of the list, the Chinese mobile game publishers that made it to the top 100 global revenue earners were: YOUKU NETWORK, YOUR PLAYTIME, JINGJI WORLD, and HENGXING HE INTERACTIVE, totaling 34 companies. Top 20 Chinese App Store mobile game revenues Games from Tencent, including "Honor of Kings," "Peacekeeper Elite," "Cross Fire," "Dungeon and Warriors: Origin," and "Last Digging Battle," took the top 5 spots in the revenue ranking. The launch of multiple new skins like "Ying Zheng" brought a 96% revenue increase for "Honor of Kings" in the Chinese iOS market, securing the top spot in revenue this period. With the start of Season 31, "Peacekeeper Elite" held the top spot on the China App Store bestseller chart for four consecutive days from January 18 to 21, with a significant 267% increase in game revenue in January, rising to the second spot in revenue ranking. The New Year blockbuster benefits introduced by "Cross Fire" on January 1st and the new version "Banwenfeng Shenlu" launched on January 10th led to a historical high in daily revenue for the game, with a 421% increase in revenue this period, setting a new record since its listing 9 years ago. In early January, NetEase officially launched the Wuxia-themed open-world adventure game "Yan Yun Sixteen Sounds" in the Chinese iOS market. The game integrates "Chinese martial arts" with open-world categories, deeply restores various traditional cultural landmarks, presenting players with an ancient society painting full of Eastern charm. The game topped the Chinese iOS mobile game download chart on the first day of its launch and stayed at the top for a week, becoming the champion of this period in Chinese iOS game downloads, and ranking 20th in revenue.