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War Robots has partnered with iDreamSky to return to the Chinese market.
My.Games, based in Amsterdam, has joined forces with iDreamSky, a third-party publishing partner, to bring the mobile shooter game War Robots back to China. The game is available on the Apple App Store and various Android platforms.
Elena Grigorian, CEO of My.Games, stated, “China is one of the biggest game markets in the world. Furthermore, the return of our key project to China was always in My.Games’ sights. Genre-wise, shooter games are among the most downloaded genres in the country, which opens up new possibilities for War Robots to grow even further.”
The Asia-Pacific region, with China at its forefront, accounted for more than half of global players in 2023, solidifying the strategic significance of the Chinese gaming market. Approximately 40% of players in the region hail from China, where 680 million out of 727 million players engage in gaming on mobile devices, contributing to about 24% of the total mobile players worldwide and generating around 30% of the global revenue in the mobile games market.
In 2018, War Robots had impressive performance in China, but the game was affected when the Chinese government introduced mandatory licensing for all games entering the market. It took several years and a lot of work for My.Games to obtain the license required, known as ISBN. The game was finally granted the license in 2023.
War Robots’ track record
War Robots has witnessed steady growth since its initial release in 2014, amassing over 250 million registered players across all platforms and accumulating $750 million in lifetime gross revenue. Notably, the game had gained substantial popularity among Chinese players prior to the imposition of the ISBN publishing license requirement in China.
In March 2023, the game received the coveted ISBN license from China’s State Administration of Press and Publication (SAPP) after concerted efforts from developers and partners in China. Now, War Robots is set to make a return, armed with a full graphics remaster, enhanced features, leaderboards, events, new game modes, and an array of new mechs and weapons.
Alex Sorbac, business development director at iDreamSky, stated, “We were delighted to receive the approval of ISBN by the State Administration of Press and Publication. The War Robots team is exceptionally talented, they created a distinctive captivation third-person PVP experience. Given the immense popularity of shooters and competitive games among Chinese players, we eagerly anticipate the launch of this localized version, which will further expand the War Robots franchise in China.”
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