Huawei Invites Game Developers to AppGallery

Playing games on the Internet has become very popular, especially in recent years: during the days we couldn’t leave our houses due to the pandemic, we looked for things to entertain us, and games were one of the most accessible options. Almost all of us embarked on virtual adventures, tried our luck at Canadian online casino sites and mostly preferred mobile devices for gaming.

Huawei is aware of this rapid growth in the mobile gaming industry and is doing its best to get a big piece of the pie. The company has recently invited game developers to use AppGallery and talked about the benefits the platform offers for studios around the world. Huawei believes that AppGallery is the best option for developers to achieve success overseas.

It’s a Global Market and Anyone Can Be a Part of It

Alexandre Salem, one of the company’s global directors, is aware of the growth in the mobile gaming market. In his presentation at the Huawei Developer Conference, he mainly focused on mobile games and said that the pandemic was the biggest reason for the industry to grow beyond expectations. According to Salem, the mobile game market grew by 13% compared to 2020, and the number of players increased by 6.4% compared to 2019. In 2020, there were 2.8 trillion players worldwide, and in 2021, that number increased even more.

This means that games have an incredibly large market compared to other mobile apps. Moreover, this is a global market: a fitness app, for example, can only be popular in European countries. But games are played almost all over the world: when you develop a popular game, you create a truly global product. Salem says AppGallery is the best option for developers looking to enter this global market, especially the mobile game market in Asian countries.

What Makes AppGallery Special?

AppGallery is a platform that started to be used on a global scale after Huawei was removed from the Google ecosystem. It has been active since 2011, but only in China: Huawei used Play Store and Google services on its devices sold in other countries. After 2018, it started to use AppGallery on all its devices.

You can think of it simply as the “Play Store” for Huawei devices. There are millions of applications on AppGallery, and they can be installed on Huawei mobile devices. In terms of the way it works, there is almost no difference between it and the Play Store. However, AppGallery is also part of Huawei’s own ecosystem: it is designed to integrate with Petal Search, Petal Maps, HUAWEI Ads and Huawei Mobile Services (HMS).

AppGallery has more than 560 million active monthly users and is mostly used in China. This means that an app that becomes popular on AppGallery will first become popular in China and then in Asian countries. Currently, many studios based in Europe and the United States are struggling to enter these markets, and AppGallery may be the solution they’ve been looking for. But more importantly, because it’s a young platform and has less competition, it can also help new developers find quick success.

Salem says AppGallery has all the technological capabilities required for game developers. He also claims that the platform offers more commercial opportunities. A studio that develops games for this platform can simplify the process with HMS Core Kits and get direct access to the Huawei Ads system. In AppGallery, discoverability is easier and monetization strategies can be applied more efficiently.

Among the studios that develop games for AppGallery, Gameloft achieved a 70% increase in the number of downloads in the first three months by adapting its popular games such as Asphalt 9 Legends, March of Empires and War Planet Online to this platform. Playrix, on the other hand, states that it is very satisfied with the Huawei Ads system: you may remember this studio from hit games such as Gardenscapes and Homescapes.

Why Is Huawei Trying to Attract Game Developers to Its Platform?

As a matter of fact, the answer to this question is simple: every business that tries to grow quickly and efficiently strives to appeal to the largest possible customer base and offer them an exclusive service. If Huawei manages to offer a popular game that is only available on AppGallery, this will greatly contribute to its growth. There are many players who buy consoles just to be able to play a certain game. It’s an app store looking to grow fast, and mobile games can make this happen – it’s no surprise Huawei’s focus is on game developers.

So, can AppGallery deliver on what it promises? According to 2020 data, this platform is home to more than 1.6 million developers and is available in 170 countries. The Play Store, on the other hand, has more than 3.4 million apps and, of course, offers more options. But it is the market share that matters more than the numbers: the vast majority of users in China and Asian countries, in general, have access to AppGallery only. This means that the only way to reach this customer base is to use the Huawei platform. There are over 500 million potential customers out there, and you can only reach them using a particular app store: almost any studio will take that risk.