In the gaming world, MOBA games have always been the focus of players' attention. However, now a lightweight revolution is quietly emerging. Are you curious about how this trend will sweep the game market? This article will take "Pokemon Unite" as an example to deeply analyze the performance and unique features of the lightweight of MOBA games in the market, and discuss the future development prospects of lightweight MOBA games in combination with the data of the Chinese mobile game overseas market scale and industry trends.
The Impressive Performance of "Pokemon Unite" in the Chinese Server Launch
Before the launch of the Chinese server of "Pokemon Unite", it attracted much attention, with the reservation number reaching as high as 32 million. After the launch, its market performance was extremely outstanding, quickly setting off a boom on the iOS platform. It topped the iOS game free list just 3 hours after the launch on the first day, and the iOS download volume on that day was as high as 235,000. Since then, it has remained firmly at the top of the list, and the current daily iOS download volume still remains at a relatively high level. In terms of revenue, it achieved about 1.77 million yuan on the test day, and the revenue reached a peak of 2.5 million yuan the next day. After that, the daily revenue has stabilized at around 2.1 million yuan, and the estimated total iOS revenue in 4 days after the launch is 8.52 million yuan, showing strong profitability.
The Remarkable Achievements in the Overseas Market and Stable Long-Term Performance
"Pokemon Unite" was the first to land on the overseas Switch platform in 2021, and the download volume reached 9 million in just two months. In September of the same year, the mobile version was launched in 75 countries and regions around the world, quickly achieving excellent results in multiple regional markets and topping the game free list in more than 65 regional markets. From the market performance, the game achieved 74.1 million yuan in the first month. Although it declined later, it reached a stable state in early 2022, with the monthly revenue fluctuating between 10 million and 15 million yuan. The revenue in October this year was 14.3 million yuan. Up to now, the estimated cumulative overseas total revenue exceeds 534 million yuan, with Japan, the United States, and South Korea ranking in the top three with proportions of 28%, 24.76%, and 6.67% respectively. The total download volume is about 102 million, and Brazil, India, and the United States rank in the top three with contributions of 13.43%, 13.29%, and 9.98% respectively. The long-term stable market performance fully proves the lasting charm of this game.
Innovative and Unique Gameplay to Create a Differentiated Experience
1. Lightweight Competitive Settings: It is defined as a "relaxed competitive game", emphasizing "healing", "not irritating", and "easy to play". It abandons the minion lanes, defense towers, and complex equipment systems, adopts a scoring mechanism, and the single-game duration is generally within 10 minutes, lowering the threshold.
2. Rich Strategic and Nurturing Elements: In terms of strategy, the "Aeos Technology" design is added. When the team reaches a certain value, players can choose buffs, and a game can carry up to 5 buffs at most. Pokemon evolves in appearance and has 8 different move enhancement combinations as the level increases in the game.
3. Diversified Entertainment Mode Expansion: In addition to the regular modes, a "theme park" mode is launched, including more than 20 maps with various gameplay. There are also social and entertainment functions such as dressing up, interacting with Pokemon, and experiencing built-in mini-games in the main city.
Analysis of the Chinese Game Market Report to Gain Insights into the Industry Development Trends
The Chinese game market has shown a multi-dimensional development trend in recent years. Through key data and analysis, we can have a deeper understanding of its internal changes and trends.
1. The Revenue of Self-developed Games Grows Significantly but the Competition Is Fierce
In 2023, the actual sales revenue of the Chinese self-developed game market reached 256.38 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 15.3%, reaching a new historical high. This growth is mainly due to the promotion of excellent new products. For example, the new head products such as "Justice Online" and "Honkai: Star Rail" have made significant contributions, and at the same time, classic products such as "Arena of Valor" and "Eggy Party" have also maintained stable performance. Among the top 100 products in terms of revenue in 2023, the number of new self-developed mobile games increased to 18, and the revenue proportion of new products increased from 6.2% in 2022 to 16.7%. Moreover, ten self-developed new products ranked among the top 50, which shows that the improvement of new product quality has a significant driving effect on the market. However, the market competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and enterprises need to continuously innovate and optimize products to maintain their advantages in the competition.
2. The Shortcomings of Gameplay and Plot Are Prominent, and the Innovation Strategy Is Clear
69.6% of developers believe that the gameplay design is insufficient, and 60.9% think that there are problems in plot shaping. The directions to enhance competitiveness include expanding diversified gameplay categories and introducing emerging technologies such as AI. Some products have already explored in the operation mode and gameplay, providing new ideas for the industry.
Analysis of the Game Overseas Market to Explore International Opportunities and Challenges
With the accelerated integration of the global game market, the overseas expansion of Chinese games has become an important direction for the development of the industry, but it also faces many opportunities and challenges.
1. The Overall Overseas Revenue Faces Challenges and the Competition Intensifies
In 2023, the overseas actual sales revenue of Chinese self-developed online games decreased by 5.6% year-on-year to 16.37 billion US dollars, declining for two consecutive years. The revenue of mobile games, the main force of overseas expansion, decreased when the global market was recovering, indicating that the overseas competition pressure of Chinese game enterprises has increased. From the income status of the same ranking in the top 100 list of self-developed mobile games overseas in 2022 - 2023, the revenue of most products is lower than that in 2022, and the overseas market competition is becoming increasingly fierce. Enterprises need to improve their R & D capabilities, deeply understand the overseas market demands, and optimize product strategies to meet the challenges.
2. Some Enterprises Have Outstanding Overseas Performances and Set Benchmarks
Although the overall overseas situation is severe, some enterprises have achieved excellent results. The overseas game business revenue of Tencent Games reached 53.1 billion yuan in 2023, with a year-on-year growth of 14%, accounting for more than 30% of the total game revenue. Its "Arena of Valor" overseas version has achieved excellent results in 57 countries and regions and has also enhanced its influence through cooperation with the Esports World Cup Foundation. Qingci Games has promoted the global launch of products such as "The Strongest Snail", and the overseas revenue proportion increased from 25.3% to 28.5% in 2023. The successful experiences of these enterprises, such as focusing on localization, strengthening marketing and promotion, and improving user experience, can provide references for other enterprises to expand overseas.
The Promising Future of Lightweight MOBA Games
Based on the successful experience of "Pokemon Unite", the data of the Chinese mobile game overseas market scale, and the industry trends, lightweight MOBA games have broad development prospects. The lower threshold and rich gameplay can attract a wider range of player groups and meet the different needs of users. In the context of the continuous development of the global game market and the diversification of user demands, lightweight MOBA is expected to become an important development direction in the MOBA game field, bringing more innovations and fun to players and creating more business opportunities for game enterprises. Although the overseas expansion of Chinese mobile games faces competitive pressure, lightweight MOBA games with characteristics are expected to stand out in the overseas market and contribute to the globalization of the Chinese game industry.
About Glodom:
Glodom is a global top 100 language service provider. It has accumulated profound professional knowledge in the field of game localization and has reached long-term and stable cooperation with many well-known game companies around the world. Glodom has more than 300 full-time employees, and its service network covers more than 40 countries around the world, supporting more than 150 languages. We always adhere to the principle of equal emphasis on innovation and service. With advanced technology and rich project management experience, we have successfully helped many enterprises achieve global strategic layout. Whether in the accuracy of localization translation or the efficiency of multilingual processing, Glodom has always been at the forefront of the industry.
