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Tencent, Alibaba-backed studio in spotlight ahead of Hong Kong IPO as China’s video gaming boom continues
- Xiamen-based Qingci Games last week filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong
- Its investors include Tencent, Alibaba, Bilibili and private equity firm Boyu Capital
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While the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed the world to a crawl, the success of a mobile game about a snail making its way through a post-apocalyptic planet has lifted its Chinese developer’s profile ahead of a potential public listing.
Qingci Games, based in the southeast city of Xiamen in Fujian province, last week filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong. The company counts Tencent Holdings, Alibaba Group Holding, Bilibili and a grandson of a former Chinese president among its star-studded cast of investors.
Its portfolio of mobile games, led by the popular The Marvelous Snail, raked in 480 million yuan (US$74.2 million) in revenue in the first quarter alone. That has put the company on track to surpass its total 2020 revenue of about 1.2 billion yuan, according to its IPO prospectus.
The Marvelous Snail – an idle tap game, which is played by repeatedly tapping on the screen – now ranks as China’s second most popular casual game, according to a recent report by research firm Frost & Sullivan.
“Qingci is a typical case of thriving on differentiation,” said Zheng Jintiao, co-founder of online media outlet GamerBoom.
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