Maybe you don't know yet, there's a new trend in the overseas expansion of mini-games | Overseas Expansion Insights

Author | Rossky

Source | Rossky

At the 2025 Game Industry Annual Conference, the author shared a view: Conservatively estimated, it will take another two years for the domestic mini-game market to reach the 100-billion-yuan scale. Why such a calculation? This is based on our years of observation and judgment of the development of the domestic mini-game market. In 2025, the scale of the domestic mini-game market reached 80 billion yuan and maintained a high-speed growth rate of 30% - 40%. The number of games being promoted on the WeChat and Douyin platforms exceeded 51,000. However, on the other side of the prosperity - involution has begun. With the surge of new entrants, the industry has bid farewell to the "easy-money era", and finding new growth curves overseas has become the consensus of all developers.

But this raises a soul-searching question: Why, after so much talk about "mini-games going global", has no real giant emerged so far?

01

Behind the "Heavyweight" Expansion of Mini-Games Overseas

Since the launch of WeChat mini-games in 2018, eight years have passed. But why hasn't the overseas expansion of mini-games formed a large scale? That's because globally, the success of the mini-program game ecosystem in China, which has risen relying on super apps like WeChat and Douyin, depends on the perfect synergy of multiple factors such as platforms, developers, and engine technologies. However, this mature model has encountered severe challenges overseas.

In the past few years, the popularity of mini-games going global has soared, but most of them have been promoted in the form of "packaged APPs" - mobile games. Although the popularity is high, it dilutes the lightweight advantage of "play instantly upon clicking" and faces high R & D and user acquisition costs. This is like "dancing in shackles".

It's not that developers don't want to create native mini-games, but that there has long been a lack of a suitable environment overseas:

Although pioneers like Facebook Instant Games have opened up mini-game functions, they have not really developed due to various reasons such as the lack of scale in user acquisition, a weak developer ecosystem, and insufficient platform attention. Other platforms like YouTube and Discord are either hesitant or their commercialization mechanisms are still in the primary stage, lacking stable traffic entrances and diverse monetization paths.

Domestic developers are already accustomed to the mature strategy of "mini-program platform + social fission + mixed monetization", but they have long been unable to find a "stage" overseas that can perfectly accommodate this logic.

Until recently, the situation has changed.

What domestic mini-game teams really hope for when going global is

To launch and distribute on overseas mini-program game platforms

02

CPA below $0.3

ROAS on the first day exceeds 100%

In recent years, driven by the explosive growth of the domestic mini-program game ecosystem, major overseas platforms have also accelerated their layout in the relevant track. However, in the author's view, the rise of the mini-program game ecosystem has its core threshold - it must rely on a massive user base and at the same time have the ecological potential to adapt to the lightweight and "play instantly upon clicking" characteristics of mini-games. Both conditions are indispensable.

Among the overseas platforms, TikTok Mini Games, which is still in the testing stage, is undoubtedly the most concerned by developers. As early as last May, we shared the news of "TikTok Mini-programs and Mini-games Testing Launched: The First Batch of 8 Mini-games and 3 Short Dramas".

Recently, with the in-depth exploration of the industry, more substantial progress has started to surface. Not long ago, the successful case of "Brain Puzzle Queen" overseas sparked quite a discussion. Coincidentally, the author also captured a new signal in the recent market monitoring - a product called "Reborn Emperor".

"Reborn Emperor" is a simulation management mini-game distributed by Youlu. It has been launched in the US region of TikTok. Although the category is different from the previous one, its performance also verifies the potential of the platform ecosystem. According to the data observed on the channel side, during the promotion of this product in the US region of TikTok, the CPA was controlled below $0.3, and the ROAS on the first day exceeded 100%.

Those who are familiar with the US market know that in the IAA model, being able to keep the user acquisition cost at the level of $0.3 and achieve a ROAS of over 100% on the first day indicates that the product model matches the channel traffic very well.

To verify this signal, we also specially logged in to the platform for a test. When users see a video ad, they can directly enter the game by clicking the "Play" icon in the lower left corner. This smooth "watch and play" experience, combined with the in-depth exploration of the "emperor simulation" theme and the sense of thrill in "numerical cultivation" in "Reborn Emperor", greatly improves the conversion efficiency.

However, it should be noted that the promotion of TikTok Mini Games has just started testing, and the scale cannot be compared with that of domestic mini-games. The platform rules and developers' promotion strategies are still being explored. Nevertheless, many domestic mini-game distributors like Youlu have seized the opportunity. The author has learned that some companies focusing on the IAA model have a daily consumption exceeding $10,000.

03

How to Understand TikTok Mini Games

We have to admit that TikTok has built its game ecosystem faster than expected.

While everyone is still watching, a key variable - the platform ecosystem and promotion infrastructure - is being accelerated and its outline is gradually becoming clear. However, due to the relatively new platform ecosystem and the continuous iteration of rules, many developers don't know much about it. Here, based on our recent observations, we'll share some simple information with you.

Although we are used to calling them TikTok mini-games, the accurate name shown on the official platform should be TikTok Mini Games.

If you have a TikTok account, you might as well try searching for the names of familiar mini-games. Maybe they have already been launched on TikTok. After clicking once, you can find the entrance to the mini-program by clicking "Profile - Top-right Menu - TikTok Minis" later.

According to the author's observation, TikTok Minis Games actually have more than just the search entrance. They can also be accessed through:

1. Profile Entrance: There is a fixed entrance on the personal profile page, which aggregates historical game experiences and recommended games;

2. Mini Games Center: An in-app aggregation center that provides classified browsing and system recommendations;

3. Video Anchor Points: This is the most core one. A link is directly attached to the lower left corner of the video of a celebrity or an ad, enabling the "watch and play" feature, which is exactly the most powerful weapon of domestic mini-games.

This multi-entrance layout reminds people of the early days when domestic mini-games were first launched - the entrances are gradually becoming more diverse, and the ecosystem is growing rapidly.

According to observations, there are currently more than a hundred games on TikTok Mini Games, gradually transitioning from ultra-casual to mid-core. The categories cover puzzle-solving, simulation management, strategy tower defense, backpack battles, etc. It's particularly worth noting that among these test products, there are not only works from domestic teams but also games from other countries.

In terms of regional coverage, it has also expanded from the early US and Japanese markets to regions such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, basically covering the mainstream market routes for domestic games going global.

04

The Distribution Path Has Been Proven

New Platform Opportunities Still Emerge

"Brain Puzzle Queen" has verified the puzzle category, and "Reborn Emperor" has verified the simulation management IAA. The signals behind these cases are very clear: The mature strategy of "lightweight products + user acquisition-driven" in China is completely feasible in the TikTok ecosystem.

A partner of an overseas company focusing on ultra-casual games commented, "This data really excites us. It proves the quality of users on this channel. The key now is to see if it can be scaled up and the stability of the platform's products and tools. But the first ones to take the plunge have already tasted the sweetness."

In the US market, it's extremely difficult to control the user acquisition price of games at a CPA of $0.3. Only during the period of the great explosion of ultra-casual games from 2017 to 2022 was it possible for global hit ultra-casual games. Now, for casual games, being able to control the user acquisition price at $1 - $3 is already a very attractive product.

A senior industry analyst also mentioned, "This is very similar to the early days of the mobile Internet. Those who could understand and embrace the traffic dividends of Facebook earlier could rise rapidly. TikTok Mini Games may now be in a similar 'dividend perception' stage. Those who can establish a systematic data understanding and promotion methodology first can build an early competitive barrier."

Domestic mini-game teams have always been eager to find an overseas platform that can replicate their domestic success, and TikTok happens to have the key conditions: it has a massive traffic foundation, strong entertainment attributes, and fission potential. Now that user acquisition for mini-games has made substantial progress, the mature path of "user acquisition + live streaming + issuer program" in China is expected to be implemented on TikTok, forming a dual growth engine for content and promotion.

A distribution director who has tested multiple products on this platform told us, "The richness of entrances and products is the foundation for whether the 'stage' is popular, and whether user acquisition can work determines whether this 'stage' can operate in the long term. Now, both the infrastructure and the growth engine have started to function."

05

The Landscape Is Taking Shape

Opportunities Still Remain

The author holds an optimistic but cautious attitude towards mini-games going global.

For a long time in the past, although many teams consulted the author about going global, most of those who finally implemented it chose the path of "packaged APPs". The core reason is that the overseas market has not yet formed a mature mini - program ecosystem like in China. The lack of infrastructure has forced developers to settle for the next best thing. However, it should be clear that the real expansion of mini - games overseas is by no means a simple "code transplantation" or "translation and transfer".

The reason why "Reborn Emperor" has succeeded is precisely because it has jumped out of the "transplantation" thinking trap and carried out in - depth localization reconstruction for US users: in terms of materials, it accurately captures the Western players' desire for conquest in the "Empire" theme; in terms of gameplay, it strengthens the immediate sense of thrill brought by numerical feedback. This kind of "customized optimization" targeting user preferences, payment habits, and even cultural context is the key to breaking through.

Now, TikTok Mini Games has completed the crucial leap from "function testing" to "ecosystem construction". It has product reserves, multiple entrances, a wide - reaching regional coverage, and has also opened up the crucial user acquisition closed - loop. Although everything is still in its early stage and the rules are not fully established, this is precisely where the opportunity lies - in a new battlefield with an undetermined landscape, those who can develop data models and methodologies first will hold the most valuable currency.

In the long run, TikTok Mini Games may become the core position for mini - game teams to go global. After all, compared with overseas counterparts, domestic teams have natural advantages in the development depth of H5 game engines, the understanding of traffic - based gameplay, and the numerical design of mixed monetization. This is the confidence for us to seize this new opportunity to expand overseas.

The window has opened. Now, it's a matter of who can act faster and understand deeper.

*All the views in this article are reprinted from the original source and are for reference only.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Comprehensive Service Port for Zhejiang Enterprises Going Global", and the author is someone who focuses on mini - games going global.