Chinese Mobile Games Won by Designing for ROI, not Romance.
Chinese Mobile Games Didn’t Win by Luck.
They Won by Designing for ROI, Not Romance.
Here are the real lessons SEA & Vietnam should pay attention to ⬇️
💰 1️⃣ Follow the Money, Not the Noise
The U.S. generates ~32% of global mobile revenue with far fewer players.
That’s why Chinese publishers treat the U.S. as a P&L center, not a “test market”.
SEA mistake:
Too many teams optimize for cheap CPI, not high ARPU.
SEA playbook upgrade:
• 🇺🇸 Tier-1 = profit engine
• 🌏 SEA / LATAM / MENA = volume + learning engine
• Separate UA, LiveOps, pricing logic per region
👉 Vietnam publishers should stop asking “Where is CPI cheapest?”
👉 Start asking “Where does LTV compound the longest?”
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🏗️ 2️⃣ Console-Tier Polish Is No Longer Optional
In 2025:
• $10M = mid-tier
• $20–30M = competitive RPG / Strategy
• LiveOps gets more budget than launch
Chinese studios don’t win by perfection —
They win by allocating money where ROI compounds:
• 30% launch
• 40% first 90-day LiveOps
• 30% UA experimentation
Vietnam insight:
If your LiveOps budget < launch budget → you’re building a short-life game by design.
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🔄 3️⃣ LiveOps Is the Product
Chinese publishers don’t build “games”.
They build evergreen platforms.
That’s why:
• Weekly events are mandatory
• Battle Pass = retention infrastructure
• Gacha works because it’s transparent & generous
Key mindset shift for SEA teams:
👉 LiveOps is not post-launch support
👉 LiveOps extends the core loop itself
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📊 4️⃣ UA Is a Creative War, Not a Targeting Game
Chinese teams run:
• 50–200 creatives / week
• Kill ~60% in days
• Scale winners hourly by ROAS
TikTok isn’t “nice to have”.
It’s the creative discovery engine
(7.1% engagement vs ~2–3% on Meta).
Vietnam reality check:
Most teams still:
• Test too few creatives
• Refresh too slowly
• Scale emotionally, not by cohort ROAS
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🧠 5️⃣ Strategy & RPG Travel Best — For a Reason
Strategy & RPG monetize 2–3× better than casual because they create:
• Long session times
• Social obligation loops
• Power fantasy
• Time-compression monetization
SEA opportunity: Hybridize — don’t imitate
• Casual onboarding
Fast FTUE, easy wins, low cognitive load
• Mid-core monet loop
Starter packs, light gacha, monthly passes, gradual friction
• Long-term progression systems
Guilds, PvP, rankings, social pressure, long-tail goals
👉 This is how Chinese studios turn accessibility into lifetime value.
🧩 6️⃣ Cross-Platform Isn’t Tech, It’s Insurance
Cross-platform players:
• Spend 40–60% more
• Churn less
• Anchor communities
Retrofitting is 10× harder than building it day one.
👉 SEA studios should stop seeing PC as “future optional”
👉 Treat it as an LTV multiplier
