War Robots returns to China in My.Games/iDreamSky partnership

War Robots has teamed up with Chinese publisher iDreamSky to bring War Robots back to the Chinese market.

Amsterdam-based My.Games has teamed with third-party publishing partner iDreamSky to take the mobile shooter game War Robots back to China. The game is available on the Apple App Store and various Android platforms.

“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,” said Elena Grigorian, CEO of My.Games, in a statement. “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. Chinese mobile players contribute to about 24% of the total mobile players worldwide, generating around 30% of the global revenue in the mobile games market.

Back in 2018, War Robots was available in China, demonstrating excellent MAU and revenue numbers. However, in that same year, the Chinese government introduced mandatory licensing for all games entering the market. My.Games immediately initiated a project to obtain permission, also known as ISBN. It took several years and tons of work, but the game was finally granted the license in 2023.

War Robots’ track record

War Robots, since its initial release in 2014, has witnessed steady growth and garnered over 250 million registered players across all platforms, accumulating $750 million in lifetime gross revenue.

Notably, prior to the imposition of an ISBN publishing license requirement in China, the game had already gained substantial popularity among Chinese players. Around 20% of the game’s total iOS downloads until 2021 were from China, making it one of the top-3 markets for War Robots on the App Store.

In March 2023, after concerted efforts from developers and partners in China, the game received the coveted ISBN license from China’s State Administration of Press and Publication (SAPP). Only 27 foreign games secured this license in 2023. 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.

“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 and captivating third-person PVP experience,” said Alex Sorbac, business development director at iDreamSky, in a statement. “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.”