360 Games Allows Game Publishers to Distribute Content to 531 Million PC Users with their Newly Updated 360 Softmanager
Largest PC gaming distribution platform in China, 360 Softmanager, releases major upgrade
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- 360 Games, China's leading game distributor and publisher, announced today that it has released a major upgrade on its digital distribution service 360 Softmanager. 360 Softmanager allows game publishers to easily distribute their products to its 531 million user base. It provides global game developers and publishers with a one-stop service to have their product submitted, reviewed, and finally uploaded to the store. It also announced five exclusive services that allow small and medium-sized game developers to compete with larger game publishers.
360 recently revealed that 531 million users are using its PC products and services, composing 96.6% of the game market in China. 360's latest statistics show that 360 Softmanager has accumulated over 30 billion downloads, and that more than 100,000 registered publishers have joined the platform.
Developers endorse 360 Softmanager because it's a convenient resource for end-users to buy and discover new games, and 360 has amassed an enormous amount of data on its user's preferences and habits. Using this vast pool of data, 360 Softmanager provides analysis to game developers for targeting user demographics, and predicting consumer purchasing patterns. Games usually take up to about 50% of overall content on digital distribution platforms, for instance games account for roughly 43% of products on Apple's App Store. At present, game distribution accounts for only 13.9% in 360 Softmanager's store, indicating that there is significant opportunity for gaming to grow as a market on 360 Softmanager.
One-stop gaming service to create the largest PC game distribution platform
In the western gaming market, Valve Software's Steam service is the preferred digital distributor. The number of Chinese users on Steam has increased from 4 million in 2015 to 10 million at present, making Chinese gamers the third-largest user demographic on Steam. Chinese users on average now own eleven Steam games, compared to the six they owned on average in 2015. Chinese users are becoming more willing to pay for original, non-copycat games, and are paying more attention to the quality of games.
As the focus of 360 Games in 2016, PC gaming is an important category of 360 Softmanager. In the future, 360 Games will cooperate with more PC game developers and expand its product lineup, and will develop its features to include livestreaming services, game peripheral sales, and other community services.
Five exclusive services to provide a greater opportunity for developers
Apart from the launch of 360 Softmanager, five developer policies are being announced:
-- Free Participation and Revenue Share for Developers
-- Expedited Single-Player Game Service
-- 360 Games Distribution Consulting Program
-- Global Platform Integrated Service
-- 360 Softmanager Resource Sharing
360 Games Distribution Consulting Program provides support for PC games, mobile games, and web browser titles. For example, in the early design stages for 360 partners, senior game design consultants can offer support on how to improve a product.
The Global Platform Integrated Service aims at helping Chinese game developers enter the global market, and overseas game developers enter the Chinese market. Also, it provides counseling for publishers developing games across platforms.
As a valuable resource in the Chinese game industry, 360 is focused on introducing global PC games to the Chinese market, and for overseas publishers who aim to enter the Chinese market, 360 Softmanager is a must.