This quarter’s iOS app store games revenue index brings a new leader to the iOS App Store’s Game category accordig to a report from AppAnnie. China has climbed to the number one spot, surpassing the US which was previously leading the pack. It was only a few months ago that App Annie reported on China passing Japan in iOS game revenues, and AppAnnie had predicted that China would jump over the US next.
With the iOS Games category taking home about 75% of all revenue, China’s leap to the top is attributed to explosive growth for multiplayer collaborative games.
AppAnnie found that locally developed games in China dominated sales and were a large reason for the strong year-over-year growth. “Specifically, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) like Fantasy Westward Journey, Westward Journey Online and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games like Hero Moba were main drivers of China’s growth in iOS Games revenue. China will continue to present huge opportunities in mobile gaming. While foreign publishers have seen success in the the country – as evidenced by Clash Royale ranking at number 10 by iOS revenue in Q2 2016 – local publishers dominate the top iOS revenue chart,” App Annie said.
The importance of the Asian markets to the mobile world cannot be overstated. “Foreign publishers may see more success in the market by partnering with Chinese publishers to cater to local demand, secure distribution and generate awareness. Together, China, the US and Japan are responsible for approximately 75% of gaming revenue on iOS,” App Annie continued. “Since Games is the single largest revenue driver on iOS, we predict that China has the potential to become the #1 market for overall iOS revenue in the coming quarters.”
On-demand music and video streaming apps also saw a surge in revenue growth thanks to in-app subscription services. Spotify hit 100 million users this quarter, and HBO NOW dominated top charts with new seasons of original content like Game of Thrones. Usage has certainly proven the new currency for app publishers, especially considering our time spent in mobile apps has nearly doubled since Q2 of 2014.
