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Overseas players spent over $16 billion on Chinese mobile gaming in the first half of 2018, according to App Annie, a market data and app analytics company in the US.

Latest data showed that a single mobile game, Knives Out, developed by top Chinese gaming company NetEase Games, earned over 40 billion yen ($35.7 million) in Japan last year.

Another report from huawainet.com, a news portal of China’s state newspaper People’s Daily, showed that over 200,000 news stories about mobile gaming in China were published by overseas media outlets last year, an increase of 58 percent year-on-year.

Some industry insiders put the global popularity of Chinese mobile games down to the use of traditional Chinese cultural elements and specialization presented in games, as well as China’s growing influence internationally.

Concerning future development, analysts believe that the consideration of user needs, proper handling of cultural differences and customized services will attract more overseas players.

“We hire local employees for overseas branches who can help us improve products based on local culture and user preferences,” said Lu Xiaoyin, president of Perfect World Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese movie and gaming company.

“We also localize our gaming content based on user habits, local regulations, religion and other factors,” he added.