The document discusses strategies for increasing wishlists and game sales in China, focusing on influencer marketing across platforms like Bilibili and Douyin. Case studies illustrate successful outreach methods leading to significant wishlist and sales increases for various games. Key recommendations include localizing game content, establishing influencer relationships, and leveraging social media for visibility.

1. HUQIAO
2022
How to increase wishlists
& game sales from China?
Marketing tactics & case study.
Wojciech Jaworski, Huqiao 琥桥

2. HUQIAO 2
• 2 years spent in China, Chinese speaker
• Intel Extreme Masters, Gwent Tournaments, PubG
Mobile - Chinese e-sport teams Player Manager
• Chinese reality show contestant
《汉语桥，我与中国第一次亲密接触》
• 8+ years experience with the Chinese Market
Founder & CEO
Wojciech Jaworski
严立行

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How
it all started

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Now we work with…

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Our projects

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你们呢？

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CHINA:
challenges & barriers 障碍
- different digital landscape
- no ISBN = no paid traffic
- language
- time difference
- content adjustments
- oversight is harder
- lack of benchmarks

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665 million players in total
10% of which are PC gamers
24% of Steam player base
around 60 mln players
vs strategic POV

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Picture this…
- that you run a studio
- games are starting to get traction among Chinese players
- sudden spikes in wishlists
Where from?
What?
How?

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TL;DR:
influencers

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哔哩哔哩, 抖音, 小黑盒
Bilibili, Douyin, Heybox
WHERE is it coming from?

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Different platforms
- social media / distribution
Bilibili 哔哩哔哩
- 332,6 mln MAU, 90,3 DAU
(2022)
- Games & anime
- Influencers + video content
- Platform for outreach
- “Chinese YouTube” but better
Heybox 小黑盒
- 50+ million users
- Mobile
- Distribution & content platform
- Connected to global Steam
- Focused on PC
Douyin 抖音
- 639 mln MAU, 2022
- “Chinese TikTok”
- Great for mobile games
- Vertical video

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自己看一看！
1. Enter https://www.bilibili.com/
2. Search for <game title>
3. Full immersion, use Chinese characters: 最多点击
4. I was blind but now I see.

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WHAT is the current situation?
Most of the times:
3-10 videos on Bilibili & Douyin (each)
100-10k wishlists on Heybox
+Comments on each platform

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Content examples
1 hour long guide to the X4 series
“The publisher is simply
too friendly to the domestic players”
3 videos on 西瓜 (Xigua)
by an influencer with 2,9 million fans

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Establish presence
Communicate
Reach out to new KOL’s
HOW can I repeat it?

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Bilibili, Douyin, Heybox
Influencers, ambassadors
Establishing presence & communication
Where, What, How

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- localised game (simplified Chinese)
- ready to go video assets
- 30-50 keys monthly
- at least 15% wishlists from China
- team member who can coordinate with external partner
or in-house Chinese marketer
- playable build
- phone number to establish Bilibili account
- 中文+知识+文化
Checklist for PC games in China
Influencer Outreach

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Process & behind the scenes
Influencer Outreach

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一步一个脚印
- influencer outreach
2. Getting to know them - OUTREACH
● Reaching out directly from your
developer’s account.
● Thanking them for creating
content about your game.
● Then, we offer them VALUE -
Steam key or something else.
1. Creating a custom database
for your game - RESEARCH
○ Mapping out all
existing content pieces
○ Checking for similar
games and titles
○ Putting them into a
database
3. Maintaining the relationship -
MAINTENANCE
● “Let’s keep in touch - if we
have anything new coming,
we will let you know”.

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Devil is in the details

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人品
moral quality, character

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Case study - Above Snakes
As of 26th of May 2023, in just 2 days:
● 23 videos published
● 130k views in total
Timeline:
- May 2023
Scope of activities:
- 1 month burst influencer outreach
One week after the release:
● 52 published videos
● over 300k views
● 2k copies sold via Heybox
(21k euro revenue generated)
● #1 Trending on SteamSpy
● Estimated number of copies sold is
between 50k-100k
● 27% of reviews on Steam are in Chinese
24.05 - embargo lifted

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Case study - Above Snakes
Tobias Schnackenberg, founder of Square Glade Games
Replies we received from Chinese influencers

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Case study - Havendock
As of May 2023:
● +14 690 wishlists between February and May 2023
● 6000 - the number of wishlists generated just on HeyBox
● Relationships established with 27 influencers, published 15
videos (and counting) as a direct result of our actions
● 160k views, 900k+ followers
● Biggest influencer who published video free of charge - 3mln
fans
Our results:
Timeline:
- February - April 2023
Scope of activities:
- Content creation for Heybox and Bilibili
- Influencer outreach
Our report from April 2023

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We got off to a bumpy start, but Huqiao managed
to master the challenges of the project.
We felt that the cooperation brought a significant
increase in the visibility of the game in China, and also
helped to build a positive image of its developer and us
as a publisher friendly to Chinese content creators.
Krzysztof Masternak
Case study - Havendock
Influencers + content = wishlist growth

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Case study - Games Operators
As of December 2022:
● +26 799 wishlists between June and December 2022
(46% increase in 6 months of cooperation)
● 31% - the number of wishlists coming from China
(highest wishlist percentage, 2nd place - USA: 16%)
● 45 000 - the number of wishlists generated just from HeyBox
Infection Free Zone was the second most popular demo during
the Steam Next Fest 2023:
● 80% of the traffic coming from China
In April:
● 84k wishlists on Heybox & 40k wishlists from China on Steam.
The wishlists’ growth has exceeded our expectations!
Jakub Ananicz, CFO at Games Operators
Timeline:
- June 2022 - December 2022
Scope of activities:
- Content creation for Heybox and Bilibili
- Influencer outreach
- Community management
- Outreach to news outlets and partners in China
- Localization of announcements, trailers and other
materials about Infection Free Zone.
Read the case study on our LinkedIn profile

29. HUQIAO 29
Does my game have the potential for Chinese market?
What should I start with?
Can I promote an erotic game in mainland China?
What are the main differences in western vs. chinese gamers?
Do I need a local publisher?
How to track results?
What about mobile games?
What about crypto games?
FAQ:

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We are Your Guide
on the Digital Silk Road

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Let’s begin!
Wojciech Jaworski
CEO Huqiao
Tel.: 883 119 265
wojciech.jaworski@huqiao.pl
Huqiao
Huqiao
www.huqiao.pl