WeChat mini games have become hugely popular in China, leading to growth of HTML5 gaming worldwide. Cocos helps HTML5 developers export games to platforms like WeChat. Some WeChat games make over $30 million. The pandemic increased mobile gaming audiences. More platforms are adding HTML5 games, continuing the trend set by WeChat mini games in China. HTML5 is becoming the standard for web gaming.

1. How WeChat Mini Game Obsession
Leads To New HTML5 Trends In The West

2. What will be discussed
How Cocos is helping HTML5 developers
How HTML5 expanded in China in 2008
WeChat mini game phenomenon
What to expect in 2021

3. Marketing Director
Luke
Stapley
Over 10 Years In Game Industry
5 Years in China’s Game Industry
Worked at Microsoft and Nintendo
Podcaster and Journalist
@GameAddict
luke.stapley@cocos.com

4. 100k Registered Games
1.4M Registered Developers
10 Years
in the
Industry
70%
of Top 20
Best-selling
apps in China

6. Cocos Creator • Open source 2D/3D game engine.
• Uses Typescript and JavaScript .
• Exports to HTML5, Android, iOS,
WeChat, TikTok, and more.
• Free to use! No Royalties!

11. Why
We
Love
HTML5
We are an open-source company.
HTML5 is the best open source
technology for the web
Google has worked to promote HTML5
and sponsored us with our project
Cocos2d-HTML5 in 2012
Adobe Flash brought great web games,
but needs a better successor we can be
help build upon.

12. In 2014, “Enclose Nervous Cat”, a game off a Chinese meme grabbed 2.4 million players
in 48 hours.
In 2015, “Legendary World HTML5” brought in 300,000 RMB (~43,000 USD) monthly sales
In 2016, “Legend of the Blue Moon”, brought in 200 million RMB (~28.5 million USD) monthly sales
In 2020, HTML5 and mini games make over 60 Billion RMB ($8.5 billion) of the total
278 Billion RMB in China.

13. 2018

14. Video Game Company Chinese Government
ISBN is needed to sell games or in-game items

16. Chinese
Game
Lockdown
All games applying with in-game items or
for sale were suspended in March
Shut down went on for 9 months with no
contact on when they would resume
Any game not approved before February
2019, needed to re-apply to clear backlog
Many developers moved to WeChat for
ad-monetized game development while
waiting during the shutdown

17. WeChat

18. 2020
>1.17 Billion MAU >45 Billion Daily Messages
Source: Buisiness of Apps

20. Why
WeChat
Added
Games
WeChat needed some new avenues to
make money from those socializing
inside the app.
People who spend more time in an app
= more money spent inside an app.
Games make money and have long
engagement!
72% of worldwide revenue in apps are
from gaming.

21. Image: Daxue Consulting
Tiao Yi Tiao
跳一跳
Rumored to have made
5 million RMB per day
Brand advertising with
McDonalds and Nike

22. WeChat + Cocos
We brought a framework
inside WeChat for games
Brought in about 10
Billion RMB in 2018 (~1.4
Billion USD)
~50% Adoption Rate
Cocos Runtime

24. Increase in WeChat
Mini Games
500 million MAU in 2020
Over 100,000 developers making mini games
44 games made over 10 million RMB (1.53 million
USD) last year
Some games making over 200 million RMB (30.7
million USD) in total revenue

25. Depart, Lord!
出发 领主大人
Jianghu Battle
踢飞江湖
Mr. Wang’s
Garbage Station
王富贵的垃圾站
Galaxy Battle
星空大决战

26. What’s
The
Point?
Many gaming innovations in the mobile
and web space were refined in Asia
• Free To Play
• Long tail game promotions
• Character customization purchases
HTML5 trend is growing and bringing
growth to new markets in SEA, MENA,
and EU.

27. Rabbids Wild Race
Strongest Demon Fighter
Imperial Saga Eclipse

28. Web
Platforms

29. Source: “Mobile Gaming Behavior Post COVID-19” by Interpret (Facebook IQ-
commissioned online survey of 13,246 mobile gamers ages 18+ across BR, CA, DE,
FR, JP, KR, UK, US, VN Jul/Oct 2020)
• USA: 28 million new gamers, 28% mobile gaming audience growth
• UK: 8.6 million new gamers, 50% mobile gaming audience growth
• S. Korea: 9.4 million new gamers, 34% mobile gaming audience growth
• Germany: 6.5 million new gamers, 25% mobile gaming audience growth

30. Mini App Marketplace Cocos Runtime

31. Mini App Marketplace

32. Cocos
Play

33. TikTok
Games

34. Final
Thoughts
• HTML5 is web gaming today!
• Added technology like WebGPU is
coming to improve gaming on HTML5
• WeChat continues to promote mini
games allowing small and indie devs in
China a place to create games
• More platforms are taking advantage
of adding HTML5 gaming

35. Luke Stapley
luke.stapley@cocos.com
ID: GameAddict