Chinese tech giant NetEase has published its earnings report for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2024, posting strong results in its gaming segment. NetEase Games brought in $2.9 billion in revenues, a plus of 1.5% compared to the previous year. Among the growth drivers for games was Marvel Rivals, which was released in December 2024 and managed to crack the milestone of 40 million players across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S in just three months.
NetEase Games' traditional strength – as is the case for most Chinese publishers – are mobile titles and these made up around 65% of the company's gaming revenues. The impact of Marvel Rivals has shifted this ratio substantially, decreasing it by 5% compared to the previous quarter and by around 10% compared to the same quarter last year. "The change in revenue mix was mainly due to the increased net revenues from PC games, including certain licensed titles," the company commented. NetEase admitted that a decrease in mobile revenues played a role, too.
During the whole fiscal year 2024, NetEase Games brought in $11.5 billion, another slight plus compared to the previous year. The revenues from mobile games made up around 73% of the total, down around 1.5% from the fiscal year 2023. NetEase attributed this to both Marvel Rivals and its long-running wuxia battle royale game Naraka: Bladepoint.
In 2025, NetEase stands to gain from the continued success of live-service titles like Marvel Rivals and Naraka: Bladepoint as well as the operation of Blizzard Entertainment's games in China — titles like World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Overwatch 2 recently returned to the country after a brief period of unavailability resulting from a spat between former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick and the Chinese company.
Finally, NetEase Games is aiming to further diversify its portfolio in 2025 with upcoming titles like Ananta, Fragpunk, Destiny: Rising, and Marvel Mystic Mayhem.
"We boldly pushed the boundaries of innovation once again in 2024, delivering groundbreaking gaming experiences that captivated players worldwide," commented William Ding, the CEO and director of NetEase. "Our new hit titles not only redefined gameplay but also set new industry benchmarks, while our legacy franchises gained fresh momentum through striking enhancements in design, storytelling and immersive content. As our diverse game portfolio expands across more genres and engages an ever-growing global audience, we remain dedicated to fostering creativity and collaborating with top talent and strategic partners to shape the next wave of gaming trends."