Sensor Tower: Global Mobile App Revenue Rankings in September 2017

Games can be said to be the main driving force of revenue in every mobile application market. According to Sensor Tower Store Intelligence, 25 of the 30 mobile applications with the largest combined revenue in the global App Store and Google Play stores in September were mobile games, accounting for more than 80% of the market share. Correspondingly, in the US and Chinese mobile application markets, games accounted for approximately 67% and 87% respectively.

In the global comprehensive revenue ranking, 8 apps are from Chinese publishers, 7 of which are mobile games. Among them, Tencent's "Honor of Kings" ranks the highest, ranking third; NetEase's "Fantasy Westward Journey" ranks seventh. In terms of the Chinese and American markets, in the US market, the mobile game "King of Avalon" produced by FunPlus is the only Chinese app in the top 30 in comprehensive revenue; in the Chinese market, "Honor of Kings", "Fantasy Westward Journey" and "Nine Continents Sky City 3D" ranked first, second and third respectively. As a gaming giant, Tencent has 10 mobile application products ranked in the top 30 in terms of revenue in September, making it the game publisher with the largest share.

In addition to games, video and streaming products are also an important part of global mobile application revenue. In China, only Tencent Video made the list at 30th place, while foreign applications include Netflix, Pandora Radio, HBO NOW, etc.

Top 30 global comprehensive revenue: Games dominate, eight Chinese apps make it into the top 30

As shown in the above rankings, last month, among the 30 mobile applications with the largest combined revenue in the global App Store and Google Play Store, 25 were mobile games, accounting for more than 80% of the total.

Among them, 15 mobile games that made it into the top 30 came from Asian publishers (mainly Japanese, Korean, and Chinese game companies), and seven were released by Chinese publishers: "Honor of Kings", "Fantasy Westward Journey", "Nine-Region Sky City 3D", "The Legend of Sword and Fairy V", "King of Avalon", "Lords Mobile", and "Clash of Kings".

Another Chinese app that made the list is Tencent Video, which ranks 30th in revenue. Including the above mobile games, a total of eight mobile apps from China have made it into the top 30 in terms of combined revenue on the global App Store and Google Play.

The non-game apps on the list include: Tinder, Netflix, Pandora Radio, HBO NOW, and Tencent Video. In addition to the popular dating app Tinder, the dominant position of video and streaming products in the mobile application field is obvious.

Top 30 apps by revenue in the US: more than half are games, and the top four are dominated by non-mobile game apps

In the US Top 30 app market shown in the above chart, 20 apps were mobile games in September, accounting for more than 60% of the total. However, among the top four apps with the highest revenue in the US, only the champion is a game: Candy Crush Saga. The second to fourth places are all non-mobile game apps: Pandora Radio, Netflix, and Tinder.

Among the top 30 apps in the US, there is one made in China: King of Avalon, produced by FunPlus. Its overall revenue ranks 29th.

China's App Store top 30 revenue: games account for nearly 90%, with 10 Tencent games on the list

Mobile games were the most popular on the Chinese App Store in September: 26 of the top 30 games were games, accounting for nearly 90%. Among them, Tencent had 10 games, making it the largest publisher. Many new products released in recent months can also be seen on the list. "Nine Continents Sky City 3D" launched by Zulong Games, "Chinese Paladin V" under King Kong Games, and Tencent's new work "Chaos King" are all new favorites of iOS players across the country. It is not surprising that their monetization performance led other competitors in the early stage of launch.

Of the top 30 highest-grossing iOS apps in the country, only one is not from a Chinese publisher: Fate/Grand Order, a hit mobile game from Japan’s Aniplex, ranked eighth on the Chinese App Store last month.