Google eyes Chinese game developers

Chinese online game developers' increasing presence on the global market has attracted the attention of Google, which on Wednesday lobbied domestic game companies to expand abroad through its advertising platforms.

After recording a high-growth rate in overseas revenue last year, Chinese game developers should explore the international market in 2014, Scott Beaumont, president of Google China, said in Beijing Wednesday.

The total overseas sales revenue of China's own online games reached $1.82 billion in 2013, soaring 219.3 percent year-on-year, with mobile and Web games recording high growth, data from the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association shows.

"China's market only accounts for 20 percent of the global market, and the domestic competition is fierce, stimulating a growing number of local game firms to seek overseas opportunities," Deng Hui, head of Large Customer Sales with Google China, told the Global Times Wednesday.

The global game market will surge from $70 billion in 2013 to $86 billion in 2016, Google estimates.

Several hundred domestic game firms have already adopted Google's advertising to reach overseas game players, Deng said, noting that the sector will maintain fast growth in 2014.

For Chinese game developers, he suggests they first gain a solid foothold in the Southeast Asia market and then explore mature markets like the US and EU.

Tang Binsen, CEO of mobile game firm Elex Technology, told the Global Times on Wednesday, "Chinese mobile game developers need to roll out a precise marketing strategy when exploring the overseas market."