Honor of Kings maintains its position as the top mobile game in China in terms of audience impressions, but Honkai: Star Rail is steadily climbing the rankings and catching up to its predecessor, Genshin Impact.

The Top Five Mobile Games on Weibo

The top five mobile games generating the most mentions on Weibo, a popular social media platform in China, were: Honor of Kings, Genshin Impact, The Legend of Zelda, Honkai Star Rail, and Light & Night (via Superpixel). Weibo has over half a billion monthly active users, making it a significant measurement of a game’s popularity.

Unsurprisingly, Honor of Kings takes the top spot on the chart due to its immense popularity in China. It is arguably the most popular MOBA in the world and a testament to Tencent’s dominance in the market. However, this ranking offers interesting insights into the Chinese gaming market, highlighting the dominance of mobile games like Honor of Kings and Genshin Impact. The Legend of Zelda stands out as an exception, gaining popularity with the recent release of Tears of the Kingdom.

The Decline of Genshin Impact?

Aside from providing a glimpse into the Chinese market, this ranking also suggests that Genshin Impact’s period of dominance may be coming to an end. MiHoYo took a risk by releasing a direct competitor to their own game, and we can already see Honkai: Star Rail surpassing Genshin Impact in terms of ongoing revenue. It’s apparent that Honkai: Star Rail’s success is due to its position as one of June’s highest-earning games, along with Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile. This further highlights the mobile-centric nature of the Chinese gaming market where social media popularity plays a crucial role in a game’s success and prospects.

As an example, Eggy Party didn’t make it to the top 10 in terms of mentions in the first half of 2023. However, it appeared in the ninth spot on a separate list of the Top 10 trending game events with its Lunar New Year Celebration. This indicates that Eggy Party is gradually climbing the trending charts and gaining popularity as both a social media phenomenon and a game, suggesting its potential for long-term success.

Overall, the Chinese gaming market is experiencing a gradual shift, with Tencent facing threats to its market dominance and MiHoYo dealing with internal competition between its titles. This sets the stage for an intriguing year ahead in the Chinese market.