China Shuttering Mobile Game Servers in Memoriam as Category Sees Continued Lift from COVID-19

Major mobile games publishers in China including Tencent and NetEase have announced that they will take their titles offline for 24 hours beginning at midnight on Saturday, April 4, as part of a country-wide day of mourning for those who tragically lost their lives during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Sensor Tower Store Intelligence data shows this comes as the games category on the country's App Store continues to see heightened installs resulting from the crisis.

According to our data, China's battle with COVID-19 and resulting lockdowns affecting consumers has resulted in a lasting lift for new mobile game installs from Apple's App Store there. Average weekly downloads of mobile games on the platform during March were 67 percent higher than in December 2019, the last full month before China's battle against the deadly virus began to intensify.

This move by the country's games publishers will result in mobile titles that require persistent online connections, such as top earners Honor of Kings and Game For Peace, being unplayable during the period of mourning. The decision to suspend service comes as part of the Chinese government's suspending all forms of entertainment during the 24-hour window. Sensor Tower will monitor the impact of this move on the category.