The war is just around the corner, and 14 overseas masterpieces get the version numbers, and Tencent, Netease and Linxi are ready to go.


Who will be the winner?

Text/Andrew
The introduction of game reserves in the domestic market this year is quite interesting.
Recently, Grape Jun has made an inventory.Q1′ s Dachang Product Reserve, andThe recent masterpieces are voiced or finalized.. From this, you can see many flagship products developed by big manufacturers, most of which are key projects with high hopes.
These times are highly certain, and it is very promising to occupy a place in the head echelon after going online. At the same time, there are another batch of masterpieces, which have entered the next waiting echelon with the imported version numbers issued at the end of last year.
Although the schedule of many of these products is not clear for the time being, or no new trends have been released, it is still worth sorting out and summarizing.
Some of the products with imported version numbers are "not small". Considering the previous product achievements, influence or IP magnitude, after they go online, they may also cause quite a storm.

01

Fearless contract
Fearless contract(Valorant)It is the first FPS product launched by Fist and will be released by Tencent in the domestic market.
When it was first published, people habitually associated it with Watching Pioneer, thinking that it was all action shooting with MOBA elements. But after actually getting started, players found that the overall feedback of the game was closer to classic FPS such as CS: GO.
Valorant is another big DAU product after League of Legends. When the game was first released, it was once criticized that the image quality specification was not high, but on the other hand, it also made the hardware threshold of Valorant extremely low. In an interview, the developer once said that "the PC ten years ago should also run with low image quality".
In addition to the gameplay content, these preconditions objectively ensure the popularization of the game. On the Twitch platform, Valorant is the most watched shooting game, nearly twice as much as the second-place CS: GO.
After its official release, Valorant has also entered the forefront of PC game revenue ranking by SuperData, so it can be optimistically predicted that after it is launched in the domestic market, the game is likely to have outstanding performance in terms of user volume and market performance.

Ark of destiny
Ark of destiny(Lost Ark, translated as "Lost Ark" in China before it was officially named)MMORPG, developed by CF developer Smile Gate, was launched in the Korean market as early as 2019, and then distributed by Amazon to European and American markets, and the domestic market was distributed by Tencent.

The official positioning of "Ark of Destiny" is "MMOARPG with fantasy theme", which emphasizes the action of overlooking angle more than typical MMO. At the same time, in addition to the core warfare mechanism, the game has designed a life system with more content levels.
Although there is little innovation in gameplay, Amazon made corresponding localization and numerical adjustment for local players when it was released to Europe and the United States, which made the game outstanding in the target market. The total number of players exceeded 20 million within one month of its launch, and Steam reached more than 1.3 million at the same time, which once became the second-ranked game in the history of Steam.
Korean MMO was once one of the backbone of domestic end-tours, but with the development of domestic market and products, many Korean tours have withdrawn from the historical stage.
However, the Ark of Destiny, a new product that is relatively more suitable for the current needs, may have a different trend. Coupled with the suspension of World of Warcraft’s national service, a large number of MMO audiences who have lost their main games have "opened branches and scattered leaves", which may also become an opportunity that Ark of Destiny can take advantage of.
The game recently plans to start a small-scale technical test, and it seems that it may be expected to go online this year.
Bao ke Meng da Ji "
Bao ke Meng da Ji "(Pokemon Unite)Originally announced in 2020, it is a MOBA game jointly developed by Tianmei and Baokemeng Co., Ltd., which has been launched on overseas NS and mobile platforms earlier.

The game organically combines Baokemeng IP with MOBA gameplay, forming a kind ofThe experience of "a little outrageous at first glance, but actually it feels good to get started".
"Bao Ke Meng Da Ji" won the best game of the year in Google Play in 2021, and also won the three awards of the most popular game, the best battle game and the most innovative game in the same year.
By the end of 2022, it is officially announced that the total download volume of games on NS platform and mobile terminal will exceed 100 million. However, in contrast, the product’s revenue ability is not outstanding. According to statistics of Statista, the monthly income of "Bao Ke Meng Da Ji" since 2022 has never exceeded 2 million US dollars.
Aurora at White Night
"Aurora on a White Night" was born with many labels, including two-dimensional war chess, top-level 2D art production, big touch painter … The game was developed by Yonghang Technology and released by Tencent, and has been launched in overseas markets before.
"White Night Aurora" is also Tencent’s first second-generation new product released overseas. According to the statistics of Sensor Tower, in the month when it was launched in overseas markets in 2021, the game revenue exceeded US$ 17 million, ranking 23rd in the airborne revenue statistics list. "White Night Aurora" ranked 11th in the best-selling list of mobile games in the Japanese market for half a month, and it was the best-performing foreign mobile game in the statistical period.

In addition, after getting the version number, the action of "Aurora at White Night" began to accelerate. Before the Spring Festival, the official bilibili released the first video prologue PV. Last month, "Aurora at White Night" released a new PV "The Colossus Sails", which seems to be a warm-up for the follow-up test. In the following days, the official number released a new PV with Chinese dubbing and camp introduction, and the test date may be announced in a while.
Country of Two: Interlaced Worlds
"Two Kingdoms: Interlaced World" is an MMORPG jointly developed by LEVEL-5 and Netmarble, and the operating unit applying for the version number in China is shown as a dream world. The game’s Ghibli style is its most distinctive label:

However, despite the external style, the overall core of "Two Kingdoms" is still a Korean MMO game with a lot of one-click pathfinding and fighting content, which also leads to some polarization in the evaluation of the game.

The market performance of "Country of Two" is outstanding. In the month of launch, it ranked third in the Top 10 of global popular mobile game revenue in that month according to Sensor Two. The product attracted more than 100 million US dollars in the world within 11 days of launch, and ranked second in the global mobile game bestseller list within two weeks. When the game is only released in Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Macao, the revenue in 11 days exceeds 100 million dollars, which is one of the products that reach the revenue node of 100 million dollars at the fastest.
Raid: The Legend of the Shadow
Raid: The Legend of the Shadow(Raid: Shadow Legends)It is a very representative product in the European and American card /Team RPG category in recent years. The game was developed by Israeli developer Plarium and will be distributed by Netease in China.
"Raid: Shadow Legend" was launched as early as 2019, and the domestic App Store was once launched on the iOS version, but its performance was average. However, in developed markets such as the United States, the product rushed into the Top 50 from the Top 100 of the iOS bestseller list one month after its launch, and stayed within the Top 50 for a long time in recent years.
The theme of the product is distinctive and typical, and it is a wide range of fantasy magic categories in European and American markets. "Raid: The Legend of the Shadow" was one of the most expressive products of its kind in the online period. If we only focus on Europe and America, Raid: Shadow Legend can be regarded as a successful attempt to upgrade the quality of card games in Europe and America.
However, in the eyes of domestic card users, "Raid: Shadow Legend" may be a game that is familiar with the gameplay routines and has some picky themes. After all, the foundation of this category in the domestic market is too deep.

Naughty King: Dream Pointer
Nautical King: Dream Pointer is another Nautical King IP product. According to the previous information, it will be a vertical screen, 3D interactive adventure game. The market performance of a Navigator IP product in the morning and evening light years is quite outstanding, which will naturally make people look forward to their next one.

However, all kinds of official accounts before the game seem to have stopped for a while. The latest development of the game bilibili stayed in July last year.
On the TapTap platform, it seems that this game can’t be searched.
The seventh epic
The Seventh Epic is a relatively mainstream two-dimensional card RPG game, which was developed by Korean manufacturer Supercreative and distributed by Zi Long in China. The main features of the game are the outstanding hand-painted art, a large number of combat performances, animation special effects, and more dependent on plot-driven. During the online period, it used to focus on the concept of "playable animation". As for the core gameplay and card cultivation, the design of the game is relatively conventional.
The Seventh Epic was launched in overseas markets earlier, and it is also one of the few secondary products that have entered the forefront of the income list in developed markets in Europe and America.

King of animals
King of animals(Zooba)It is a tactical competitive mobile game that survived in the "eat chicken masterpiece". The game was developed by Wildlife Studios and distributed by Baidu Duoku in China. Although the volume of products is far from the previous four donkey kong, it has also opened up a foothold in the category market, and filled the gaps of too few users when "Night of the Fortress" is absent. In the context of the suspension of Apex Hero Mobile Games, its fifth position may be more stable.
Three kingdoms war chess edition
"The History of the Three Kingdoms" is another mobile game of "The History of the Three Kingdoms" authorized by glorious IP, which was developed and released by Linxi Entertainment. At present, it is scheduled for public beta on March 17th.
As the name suggests, the game is a product of war chess +SLG positioning, which also belongs to SLG category, but it emphasizes the playing elements such as walking operation and strategy in battle.
Previously, the producer said that he didn’t want to be a "one-look-through" SLG, hoping to distinguish it from COK/ROK and seasonal SLG.
The sword and the knights
Before it was officially named, Sword and Knights was translated into Grand Knights in China. The product was developed by Korean manufacturer Npixel, and Linxi Entertainment had previously released overseas versions of the game in some Southeast Asian markets such as China, Hong Kong and Macao, Singapore and Malaysia.
Sword and Knights is also a typical Korean MMORPG, some core members come from the development team of Seven Horsemen, and the game also has a little JPRG flavor, such as the English name of the game and some vertical painting styles, which are reminiscent of the Blue Fantasy series, but they are not related.
Sword and Knights has made some innovations in the construction of a three-person team combat system, skill linking and role switching in combat, but the overall gameplay and cultivation methods of the game are still relatively strong Korean tour flavor.
The game was very strong during its launch in 2021. It once reached the top of the best-selling list of iOS in South Korea, and the highest monthly flow in the Korean market reached 150 million yuan.

Legend of the Sword and the Chivalrous Man: A New Beginning
"Legend of the Sword and the Chivalrous Man: A New Beginning" is another new mobile game of the Sword IP. According to the information approved by the version number, it was released by Kaiying. At present, there is very little public content, and it can only be preliminarily inferred that it is an MMORPG with the existing information. The official adaptation of Xianjian or the mobile game authorized by IP is generally not very prominent from the long-term curve. I wonder if this new work can make a new breakthrough.
Empire and puzzle
Empire and puzzle(Empires & Puzzles: RPG Quest)It is one of the examples of "San Xiao +RPG imitation" in overseas markets in recent years. This game developed by Finnish manufacturer Small Giant has been staged for three years.A drama that rises against the trend and attacks all the way., from the Top 200 of the iOS bestseller list to the Top 20.
The design framework of "Empire and Puzzle", Three Elimination +RPG+SLG, has attracted many imitators, and some of them have also performed well in European and American markets, which is a benchmark that cannot be ignored on the path of three elimination+X.
At present, the game has no such strong advantages in terms of art and expressiveness, but a few years ago, Empire and Puzzle did seize some market gaps by virtue of the integration of theme and gameplay, and the developer was acquired by Zynga by virtue of this advantage. In 2019, the global download volume of Empire and Puzzle has exceeded 34 million, and reached the top of the iOS bestseller list in 57 countries.

Adventure Island: The Legend of Maple
Adventure Island: Legend of Maple is a series of genuine mobile games of Adventure Island developed by Nexon, which continues the presentation mode of horizontal 2D. The game is jointly transported by Century Tiancheng and Tencent in the domestic market.
Products focus on keywords such as genuine, restoration and feelings in positioning, and elements such as painting style, music, scenes and characters familiar to old players will be reproduced one by one, and the operation of the mobile terminal will be adapted.
Adventure Island: The Legend of Maple was tested in China in 2021. After obtaining the version number, the official accounts of the game, such as Weibo, were also dynamically updated.

02

More than a dozen products are listed above, but only some heavy IPS with user potential or cases where revenue performance has been verified in other markets are highlighted. At the end of last year, there were more than 40 imported masterpieces, most of which have not yet been finalized. Although these dozens of games are very weighty, they may not all be officially launched within this year.
For some well-known imported products, apart from when they will be launched, everyone may be more concerned about how high they can reach.
To put it bluntly, a few heavy end-games such as "Fearless Contract" and "Ark of Destiny" are undoubtedly the most optimistic and highly anticipated by the outside world.
At the same time, masterpieces with different styles are placed here, which inevitably raises some questions. For example, there are many typical Korean MMO kernel products now. In the domestic market in 202X, it is obviously a question mark whether they can still be as popular as in 200X.
For example, in several sub-categories, representatives who have established their advantages through the integration of gameplay have been in the European and American markets, but that was a story three or five years ago after all. Now, when they are transferred to China, I am afraid they will also face the test of "will they not be acclimatized?"
However, even with many unknowns, the current reserves can still be gratifying.
This is not only because everyone has been "holding back" for a long time, but also because they have the opportunity to introduce some living water to the domestic market, so that some new variables can be produced in some slightly homogeneous fields in recent years.


Game grape recruitment content editor,

Click "Read the original" to learn more.



industryRecruitment season | AI frenzy | Quadratic UGC

Youxing goes to sea | Tencent returns in 2023 | Industry trap
Danzai party | Bloody American bestseller list | Magic: The Gathering


You can receive the push sum at the first time.completeCover!