Sensor Tower's store intelligence platform indicates that in September 2026, a total of 37 Chinese publishers made it into the global mobile game publisher revenue Top 100, collectively generating $2 billion, which accounted for 41.6% of the total revenue of the global Top 100 mobile game publishers during the period.
In September, the top tier of the Chinese mobile game publisher rankings remained highly stable, with the top seven publishers all holding their positions, and Tencent continuing to sit firmly at the top. Mid-tier publishers delivered more outstanding performances. Bilibili saw a 36% month-over-month revenue increase, rising 7 places in the rankings. Joy Games climbed 10 spots, becoming one of the publishers with the largest ranking gains this month. Additionally, Efun World, Youku Shengshi, and Luzhu Games returned to the list.
Lilith Games has seen continuous overall revenue growth since April, and in September its total publisher revenue reached a new high for the year, further consolidating its competitive position on the Chinese mobile game publisher revenue list. Clash of Critters (Tata Adventure Team) contributed the main revenue increment, with its September revenue share of the publisher's total rising to 42%. More notably, the game's revenue had just surpassed the same company's Rise of Kingdoms in August, and by September its revenue had reached approximately twice that of the latter, rapidly widening its lead. With the game's revenue increasing in the Taiwan region of China and South Korea markets at the end of August, and its launch on mainland China iOS on September 4, it continues to expand its user coverage. In September, mainland China, Japan, the United States, and the Taiwan region of China together contributed 68% of revenue, with multiple regional markets jointly supporting its revenue performance.
Lingxi Games saw a 33% month-over-month increase in mobile game revenue in September, rising 4 places to 9th. According to Sensor Tower data estimates, Lingxi Games' core product Three Kingdoms: Strategic Edition generated approximately $16 million in September revenue, up 54% month-over-month. Mainland China remains the core revenue market for the game. On September 19, the game launched its seventh anniversary celebration in mainland China, with revenue performance particularly strong in the early days of the event, propelling the game to rank 3rd on the mainland China iOS mobile game bestseller list for two consecutive days from September 19 to 20, with daily revenue reaching its highest level ever for an anniversary celebration.
Bilibili's new title Lumi Master launched globally in September. The game centers on lightweight pet catching, integrating pet collection and development, strategic battles, and home management. In terms of global markets, mainland China iOS contributed approximately 40% of the game's revenue, while the United States and Japan together accounted for about 30%, forming the main revenue sources. After launch, Lumi Master quickly rose to become the second-highest revenue-generating mobile game under Bilibili in September, providing important support for the publisher's revenue growth.
Joy Games' mobile game revenue grew 30% month-over-month in September, mainly driven by Duck Survival. This title is a doomsday survival mobile game that combines horde-survival Roguelike combat, character development, and base building. Its Android early testing can be traced back to April 2025, and the international iOS version launched in May 2026. According to Sensor Tower data estimates, the game's revenue grew 140% month-over-month in September, surpassing Legend of Mushroom for the first time and rising to the top of the publisher's monthly revenue chart.
Efun World's publisher revenue in September reached a record high, with Wild Water World becoming the key incremental source. The game integrates maritime survival, resource management, and SLG gameplay. After its Chinese version launched in January 2026, revenue continued to grow, breaking historical records in September. At the same time, the game's overseas performance was outstanding. Since its launch at the end of August, it successively claimed the top spot on the iOS mobile game download charts in South Korea, the Taiwan region of China, and Japan, with overseas revenue rising rapidly. By September, overseas revenue had reached 60% of global revenue, and it pushed its September revenue past Lands of Jail, making it Efun World's highest-grossing mobile game for the month.
Beyond the list, the Chinese mobile game publishers that made it into the global revenue Top 100 are, in order: Magic Tavern, Giant Network, BeHeFun Games, Perfect World, Tap4Fun, Jiangyu Interactive, and Game Spark, totaling 37 companies.
China App Store Mobile Game Revenue Top 20
In September, the China App Store mobile game revenue list showed growth across multiple categories. Tencent continued to occupy the top positions, with its products sweeping the top five. Among them, the auto-battler genre performed notably well. Battle of Golden Spatula, driven by its fifth anniversary celebration and season events, rose to 4th place. The new title King of Glory Chess entered the App Store revenue list at 11th place in its first month. At the same time, version updates and anniversary events drove revenue recovery for multiple long-running products. Genshin Impact saw a 42% month-over-month revenue increase, returning to the top ten. Onmyoji celebrated its tenth anniversary, with revenue surging over 170% month-over-month.
Tencent (00700)'s Battle of Golden Spatula saw a 45% month-over-month increase in mainland China iOS revenue in September. On the operations side, the game launched a series of welfare activities around its fifth anniversary celebration and introduced limited characters, collectible content, and summoning discounts during the return of the "Spirit of Painting" season, creating consecutive payment touchpoints. According to Sensor Tower data estimates, on September 30, the game rose to 2nd place on the China iOS mobile game bestseller list; that day's mainland China iOS revenue exceeded $7.2 million, setting a new single-day revenue record.
In September, NetEase (09999)'s Onmyoji celebrated its tenth anniversary, with mainland China revenue growing over 170% month-over-month during the period, and monthly revenue reaching a nearly 3-year high. On September 9, the "Eternal Celebration" event began, offering SSR Ishichouhime, SP Momohime Hiyoribo, and login rewards of 100 pulls, propelling the game to 3rd place on the mainland China App Store bestseller list, its best ranking of the year.
Tencent's King of Glory Chess officially launched in September, entering the mainland China App Store mobile game revenue list at 11th place in its first month, and consistently holding the top spot on the mainland China iOS mobile game free chart. As a derivative product of the Honor of Kings IP, the game adds bidding, event cards, and hero growth mechanics on top of six-player auto-battler gameplay, creating gameplay differences from Battle of Golden Spatula. According to Sensor Tower's September global auto-battler mobile game revenue rankings, Tencent's two products took the top two spots, showing that it has formed a dual-product layout covering different gameplay experiences and further consolidating its competitive advantage in this subcategory.
In September, Genshin Impact ranked 9th on the list, moving up 4 places. On September 23, version 7.1 "Requiem for the Netherworld" launched, with new five-star characters Visner and Voyanisha entering the first-half banner, providing players with new character collection and development goals. The sixth anniversary celebration also began simultaneously, with 1,600 Primogems and a limited five-star selector gifted via mail, effectively driving returning players and payment conversion. The combination of the version update and anniversary benefits pushed the game's ranking on the China iOS mobile game bestseller list from 29th to 2nd, with single-day revenue reaching its peak for the year.
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