TOKYO — Ask a mobile gamer in Japan to name popular titles, and the list is likely to include games with a homegrown touch that actually come from China.
Japan is a hub of major video game companies. And while players here have traditionally stuck to domestic titles, Chinese games are making inroads.
The mobile game market in Japan reached about $9.7 billion in the first half of 2021, according to U.S.-based Sensor Tower — up 63% from the same period of 2017. Chinese-made games have helped drive this rapid growth.
Three titles from China were among the 10 top-grossing games in the just-ended half. Knives Out, a battle royal from NetEase, was No. 7. Role-playing game Genshin Impact came in ninth, while Houchi Shojo was 10th.
No Chinese company had made the top 10 back in 2017. And the top 100 now include 22 titles from China, up from just eight.
After taking other international…
