This document summarizes the October 2013 China App Index from Wandoujia, China's leading Android app store. Key points include: - WeChat games dominated the top game rankings due to their social and competitive features. WeRunner was a top earner. - Foreign games like Plants vs Zombies 2 and Angry Birds Star Wars II saw great success in China after being localized. - "Hacker" apps that modify game data were popular to boost scores and impress friends on leaderboards.

1. Wandoujia
China’s leading Android app store
The China App Index
October 2013
Top Trend:
WeChat Messenger
Sends Waves through
the Game Rankings

2. Top Trends in October 2013
1
2
3
WeChat messenger sends waves
through the game rankings.
Foreign games climb to the top.
“Hacker” apps:
steroids for mobile gamers

3. 1
WeChat Messenger Sends Waves
through the Game Rankings
Three of the hottest new games in the Wandoujia app store are integrated with Tencent’s
popular WeChat messenger app. Following in the successful steps of Korea’s Kakao and
Japan’s LINE messengers, Tencent added their own gaming platform into the app this August.
Rhythm Master
(节奏⼤大师)
Monthly Downloads: 919k
Play with
WeChat Friends
A scrolling rhythm game in the spirit of Guitar
Hero, Rhythm Master delivers the added
challenge of button tracks requiring players to
swipe patterns. The game features an immense
pool of fresh Chinese music, as well as hits from
Korea, Japan, and popular manga
shows.
Logging in requires players’ WeChat or QQ
profiles, and at the end of each round, they are
prompted to share their scores.

4. 1
WeChat Messenger Sends Waves
through the Game Rankings
WeChat games are marked by simple, but highly competitive gameplay. Chen Haozhi, CEO of
Chukong, estimates the Chinese mobile gaming market will grow to $390 million in 2014, and
Tencent will control a quarter of that with its arsenal of casual social games.¹
WeRunner
(天天酷跑)
Friend Ranking
Monthly Downloads: 522k
In WeRunner, Tencent joins forces with Gun
Saints (枪神纪) to bring the latter game’s three
main characters to a world of racing. The game
features adorable graphics, various animal and
vehicle mounts, and unlockable pets. Players
navigate challenging courses with just two
action buttons: Jump and Slide.
Find
Nearby
Player
Invite
Friend
Play Game
¹http://technode.com/2013/09/27/wechat-will-take-one-quarter-of-mobile-games-market-in-2014/
The game includes a scoreboard displaying a
player’s current ranking among their friends.
According to Tencent’s own news service,
WeRunner’s daily revenue peaked at more than
$1 million and earned a total of $16 million in its
first month.

5. 2
Foreign Games Climb to
the Top
Chinese gamers have given foreign titles a hero’s welcome. Plants vs. Zombies 2 takes the
top position with over 2 million downloads with Angry Birds Star Wars II following a few
steps behind. This smashing success validates Popcap and Rovio’s expansion into China
with Shanghai studios.
Plants vs. Zombies 2
(植物⼤大战僵⼫尸2)
Monthly Downloads: 2 million
PopCap Games’ sequel to its huge 2009 success has
taken the Chinese market by storm. The sequel builds
on the classic foundation of the original, adding new
game abilities, items, and locations. Combining
elements of real-time strategy, tower defense, and card
collecting games, Plants vs. Zombies 2 tests both a
player’s strategic intelligence as well as physical
reflexes.
PopCap’s Shanghai studio localized the entire game
into Chinese.
PvZ 2 is one of four international titles that will be
released on the WeChat games platform, which will no
doubt further fan the flames of its popularity.

6. 2
Foreign Games Climb to
the Top
Six of the ten fastest growing games are from foreign developers. Cheese
Barn’s second place finish shows that great gameplay needs no translator.
Cheese Barn
(奶酪⾕谷仓)
Monthly Downloads: 192k
Growth Rate: 142,360%
This physics-based puzzle game invites the player to
help a hungry mouse navigate an increasingly difficult
environment of traps, boxes, and jarred chemicals to
reach a coveted chunk of cheese. Players must move
objects to the right places in the right order to ensure a
safe journey for their furry little friend.
Cheese Barn avoids text localization by relying on
icons for buttons and a visual animation for
explaining new game elements.
Perhaps surprisingly, Cheese barn has achieved its
gargantuan growth without a word of Chinese. While
available in English and a few European languages,
Cheese Barn uses visual, text-free demonstrations to
explain gameplay to players, whatever their mother
tongue may be.

7. 3
“Hacker” Apps:
Steroids for Mobile Gamers
In the West, game hacking tools like Game Genie or later game mods have been largely relegated to
trolling neckbeards, but in China they give the Average Zhou a chance at his major league dreams.
With so many games sharing scores, players search for hacks to impress coworkers and crushes.
WePop Assistant
(天天爱消除助⼿手)
Monthly Downloads: 16,000
Is WePop too fast? This hack claims to
slow down the game so that you can
crush your friends on the scoreboard.
WePop Assistant is one of TWO popular
new “assistant” apps to help players
improve their performance and fudge
their scores in WePop, one of the five inhouse developed games so far released
by Tencent on WeChat.

8. 3
“Hacker” Apps:
Steroids for Mobile Gamers
Whether they want to wipe that smile off their frenemy’s face, impress their online paramour,
or simply triumph over the one boss left between them and the throne, a game “hacking” app
is something any social climber wants up their sleeve...just in case.
SB Game Hacker
(烧饼游戏修改器)
Monthly Downloads: 206k
Growth Rate: 79%
Altering the number of coins
in Temple Run 2.
SB Game Hacker touts itself as the
simplest and superlative “game altering”
app on the market, bar none. It’s a great
way to cheat: players can easily change
various game data, including gold,
character stats, and item numbers via a
simple in-game interface, free of ads.

9. Star Apps
October 2013
Top New
Fastest Growing

10. Top New
Top New App
Top New Game
wRotatr
(⾃自动壁纸切换)
Plants vs. Zombies 2
(植物⼤大战僵⼫尸2)

11. Top New Apps
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Name
Downloads
wRotatr (⾃自动壁纸切换)
30,666
AnimeTaste
27,974
Youdao Dictionary (有道词典云端增强版)
20,906
Root Explorer (R.E.管理器)
19,746
UC Browser (UC浏览器-加速版)
18,417
Moves
17,591
WePop Assistant (天天爱消除助⼿手)
16,299
QQ2012 Downloader (QQ2012下载机)
12,441
QQ2011 Downloader (⼿手机QQ2011下载器)
11,697
Plants vs Zombies Cheats (植物⼤大战僵⼫尸2攻略秘籍) 10,049

12. Top New Games
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Name
Downloads
Plants vs. Zombies 2 (植物⼤大战僵⼫尸2)
2,005,138
Rhythm Master (节奏⼤大师)
919,172
WeRunner (天天酷跑)
521,916
League of Legends (撸啊撸)
281,349
Angry Birds Star Wars II (愤怒的⼩小⻦鸟星战版II)
158,767
3 Kingdoms Battle (雄霸三国之铁⾎血武神)
122,039
Linking World (连连世界)
110,430
Sword of the King (⺩王者之剑)
107,629
3 Kingdoms Fight (⽃斗三国 超激烈群P传)
75,973
Crazy Pop Puzzle (疯狂爱消除)
73,805

13. Fastest Growing
Top New App
Top New Game
Lockscreen Sprite
(锁屏精灵)
Krazy Kart
(暴⼒力卡丁⻋车)

14. Fastest Growing Apps
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Name
Downloads
Growth rate
Lockscreen Sprite (锁屏精灵)
164,479
1,019%
Baidu One-Tap Root (百度⼀一键root)
174,576
450%
Qunar Travel (去哪⼉儿旅⾏行)
592,099
217%
Watermark Camera (⽔水印相机)
160,792
150%
SB Game Hacker (烧饼游戏修改器)
205,557
79%
365 Calendar (365⽇日历插件版)
267,203
57%
Tudou Video Player (⼟土⾖豆视频播放器)
272,092
55%
Mogujie (蘑菇街)
163,775
15%
Fetion (⻜飞信云聊版)
220,619
9%
Ringtone Master (铃声多多)
249,117
9%

15. Fastest Growing Games
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Name
Downloads
Growth rate
Krazy Kart (暴⼒力卡丁⻋车)
157,345
179,722%
Cheese Barn (奶酪⾕谷仓)
192,322
142,360%
Pitfall
171,005
14,412%
Blood Run (五虎断⻔门⼑刀)
189,619
11,571%
Farm Defense (保卫农场之横扫僵⼫尸) 351,644
369%
Golden Flower Poker (真⼈人炸⾦金花)
163,858
188%
JJ Landlord Poker (JJ⽃斗地主)
164,058
69%
Ski Safari (滑雪⼤大冒险)
259,485
69%
Temple Run Oz (神庙逃亡：魔境仙踪) 166,836
49%
Pocket Rally (⼝口袋拉⼒力赛)
35%
151,460

16. Wandoujia
Gaming Partner
Showcase

17. I’m MT
263,110 downloads 102 RMB ($16)
in the first week of the exclusive launch
ARPPU
Industry Avg = 90 RMB
When LocoJoy released its smash hit I’m MT for Android, they partnered
with Wandoujia for an exclusive launch. A special landing page drove over
250,000 downloads in the first week, and Wandoujia currently contributes
over 70,000 DAU to the game.

18. About the China App Index
http://appindex.wandoujia.com
China is the world’s largest smartphone market, by far. But it’s a
black hole for app data. Mobile research firms use Google Play data,
which works for most of the world, but not for China. Nine out of ten
new smartphones sold in China run Android, but developers are left
in the dark.
Here at Wandoujia, we decided to change that. As an Android app
store with over 200 million users, we decided to shine a light on the
market. We hope it will encourage more foreign developers to come
to China.
Methodology:
•
•
•
•
Top new: Launched within the last 60 days.
Fastest-growing: Highest growth-rate this month, relative to an average of the previous 3 months.
App data is carefully screened to eliminate ‘zombie downloads’
All data is from the Wandoujia App Store, with 200 million+ Android users in China.

19. About Wandoujia
The China partner for app developers
Wandoujia’s editorial team is always on the lookout for the best
new apps. That definitely includes apps from foreign developers!
We’ve partnered with Flipboard, EverNote, Pocket, and LINE to do
exclusive launches and promotions in China.
The place for mobile gamers
Wandoujia is the easiest way to reach a massive audience
of gamers in China. For developers, our app promotion
system makes it easy to be discovered and our payment
SDK makes it easy to get paid.
Complete media management
Wandoujia is for more than just apps. Our PC suite makes it
super-easy for users to manage all of their content. That
includes movies, TV shows, music, and e-books too.
Learn more here:
http://www.slideshare.net/WandouLabs/
brandbook-en?from_search=5

20. Wandoujia Developer Center
Register today:
http://developer.wandoujia.com/
English version coming soon!
For English support contact: zhangyan@wandoujia.com
Benefits for Registered Developers:
•
•
•
•
Verified developer badge gives developers peace of mind
Push updates to your Chinese users, quickly and efficiently
Eligible for campaigns and featured promotions
Optimized search result ranking

21. Case Study: Flipboard in China
When Flipboard came to China in June 2012,
it partnered with Wandoujia on the launch.
150,000 downloads
“
in the first week.
Our China launch with Wandoujia was a big success.
A few short days after we got in contact, we were ready to launch with a nicely
designed campaign that fit with our brand image. Wandoujia has delivered hundredsof-thousands of downloads, including some of our highest-quality users in China.
-Alvin Tse, Product Director at Flipboard China

22. Did you like this?
Subscribe to the China App Index!
http://eepurl.com/CkIyz
The China App Index will arrive in your inbox once a month. Fear not, we think
spam is evil too. And we use MailChimp, so it’s super-easy for you to unsubscribe any
time. But we--and our very, very cute cats--will be sad to see you go.

23. Let’s connect!
http://appindex.wandoujia.com
kai@wandoujia.com
Product Manager for
International
zhangyan@wandoujia.com
International Developer
Relations