The Beginning of Opportunities in 2024

2023 Game Industry Steady Growth: Chinese Games Spread Worldwide

As one of the most representative industries of China's "going global" efforts, the game industry has maintained a leading position in the global market from 2020 to 2023. Over the past four years, the share of Chinese game exports has remained stable at 64.9% (Source: 2023 China Game APP Going Global Driving Force Report). With the development of the Belt and Road initiative, regions such as Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East have entered the global advertisers' radar, and Chinese games are now widespread around the world.

Game Export: A New Era of Going Global

In 2023, China’s self-developed games achieved $16.366 billion in overseas sales, maintaining a scale exceeding 100 billion RMB for four consecutive years (Source: 2023 China Game Industry Report). With the global geopolitical turbulence, the market for "going global" is shifting toward mature markets, and changes in privacy policies... the export sector is quietly entering a new era. This new era demands efficient strategies, choosing the right export regions, platforms, refined promotional operations, and localized marketing. The 2.0 era of game exports has now begun.

The Need for Localization in Game Exports

As game exports become increasingly competitive, how can game companies stand out? "Localization" is an unavoidable topic for advertisers in global markets. From discussions with top game export companies, we have found that the localization ability of game teams plays a crucial role in user click-through rates, game experience, and even the final payment behavior. Localization will be based on understanding market conditions, different cultures, platform channels, consumer behaviors, and professional operation skills.

2024 Departure to Russia Industry Sharing Conference — Analyzing Localization in Russia

On January 17, at the "2024 Departure to Russia" Localization Growth Industry Sharing Conference, elites from various fields of game exports gathered to exchange ideas on the latest trends in the game industry, including payment, monetization, and operations.

Discussing Opportunities

—— Zhou Jun, General Manager of Advertising Department, Wanzhong Technology

Zhou Jun shared his thoughts on why to focus on Russia: Why go to Russia? Are our clients succeeding there? He believes that Russia, with the largest population in Europe and the fourth-largest GDP in Europe, is a huge opportunity. Since Wanzhong started offering VK services in May 2023, the company has accumulated substantial experience in the process of helping domestic advertisers go global. In the future, they will continue to assist advertisers in their global journey using their practical experience and channel resources.

In March, I took my team to Russia, met with VK partners, and set up a team within two months. After becoming capable of offering services in May, we officially started VK business, and by June, we began serving our first client. By December, our growth rate had consistently remained above 100% for six months.

Discussing VK Opportunities

—— Kate Skosyrskaya, Head of International Business Development, VK

From the perspective of a leading platform in Russia, she provided a detailed introduction of VK's platform capabilities and advantages in offering diverse solutions for game advertisers.

Discussing VK Promotion Process

—— Maria Travkina, International Accounting Head, VK

Maria provided a detailed introduction to VK’s platform, showcasing its complete promotion system and management processes, supporting advertisers in promoting within Russia.

Introducing RuStore

—— Mariia Suina, Business Development Manager, RuStore

Mariia shared an online introduction to RuStore (Russia's official certified app store) and explained that RuStore, as Russia's certified app store, is a massive traffic entry point and will become an essential option for game exports. The session also featured a live connection with Svyatoslav Zinovsky, Business Growth and Partnership Manager at RuStore, for a Q&A session with the audience.

Discussing Third-Party Payments

—— Chen Jingbo, Head of Greater China, Xsolla

Xsolla has served over 2,000 games worldwide and discovered that tax issues are a common blind spot for advertisers expanding globally. He recommended that advertisers be sure to understand local regulations to mitigate potential risks when expanding internationally.

Discussing Ad Monetization

—— Cui Can, Business Director, TopOn

Cui Can provided a complete analysis of the Russian app market and explained how to start monetizing ads in Russia, offering a case study to demonstrate the logic of ad monetization in the Russian market.

Discussing Game Publishing and Operations

—— Senior Game Journalist, Roski

Roski shared detailed insights from the Russian market research team and analyzed the market’s development. He believes that if Chinese internet companies want to make an impact in Russia, they need to tailor their strategies to local market characteristics, focusing on "strong localization, strong operations, and deep engagement".

2024 Departure to Russia Industry Sharing Conference — Analyzing Localization in Russia

This conference featured not only the presence of VK and RuStore, but also the support of co-organizers Xsolla and TopOn, and we are grateful for Roski’s participation. We believe this event marks the beginning of the 2024 opportunities. We look forward to sailing globally with you!

Stay tuned for more exciting updates.