GALA Sports rises to global fame in mobile sports games development

The second biggest mobile sports simulation games developer in the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”), GALA Sports demonstrates strong credentials to enter the global arena as the first mobile sports games developer stock to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The momentous event of the year, the 2022 FIFA World Cup, may have come and gone, but fans can continue their indulgence with a fascinating array of curated sports games from GALA Sports.

A young yet knowledgeable mobile game developer in the PRC, GALA Sports was founded a decade ago by a management team of passionate sports enthusiasts who have dedicated every effort to creating stunning graphic motions and subtle details for a great gaming experience.

The group has developed four mobile sports games that bring gaming to a new level, namely, Football Master, NBA Basketball Master, Football Master 2 and Total Football. They form the backbone of the group’s business and constitute the majority of its revenue.

GALA Sports’ games have gained widespread acceptance and popularity, as evidenced by the group’s ranking as the second largest in the mobile sports game market in the PRC in 2021 in terms of revenue, with a market share of approximately 7.9%. This strong performance places GALA Sports second only to Tencent and ahead of industry giants such as NetEase, EA Sports, and Konami.

The group has also achieved a strong presence in the mobile sports simulation game market, ranking second in terms of revenue and holding a market share of approximately 12.4%.

Football Master features stability and long lifecycles

Launched in 2014, Football Master is the group’s first flagship mobile sports management simulation game, and was still generating RMB 135 million in revenue in 2021. It also ranked second in the Vietnam sports simulation game market in 2021.

The game’s long lifecycle is due to a myriad of factors, including the enduring popularity of sports; prolonged user engagement from loyal sports fans; realistic portrayal of real-life sports world development with continuous upgrades; as well as efforts to expand the user base by publishing 10 languages of its existing games for overseas markets, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan.

As NBA, NBPA and FIFPro are known to be scrupulous in choosing game developers for partnership for fear of tarnishing the reputation and goodwill of their intellectual property rights, the report also notes GALA Sports’ success in obtaining and renewing IP right licenses from internationally renowned sports leagues and associations including FIFPro, NBA, NBPA, Juventus F.C., Manchester City F.C., Paris St. Germain F.C., and more, is a significant recognition of the group’s standing in the industry, and a testament to its strong capabilities.

Football Master 2 scores high in overseas markets

GALA Sports followed up on the scintillating success of Football Master with the launch in April 2020 of Football Master 2 which ranked second in sports management games in Vietnam in 2021, and third in South Korea in 2021.

Only three days after its launch in Japan on iOS App Store, Football Master 2 topped the chart in Free Sports Games ranking and achieved Top 10 status in Free Downloads ranking.

In South Korea, Football Master 2 reached Top 1 in the Sports category on Google Play, and Top 1 in the Sports category on iOS App Store in the first month of its release.

Total Football showcases leading technology

Newly launched in July 2022, Total Football breaks new grounds, being the group’s first mobile football action simulation game to incorporate state-of-the-art 3D gameplay scenes and advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology. They enhance game experience with seamless gameplay, sophisticated action animation and visuals including physical strength, running speed, shooting accuracy and motion capture techniques.
For example, in a football game, tens of thousands of spectators in the stands cheer and respond to what happens on the field in addition to the athletes competing on a virtual football field. This involves projecting intricate virtual structures behind the screen, and in Total Football, it can depict up to 100,000 dynamic spectators on the same screen.

Arena Intelligence, a data-driven AI system, allows players’ attributes to be meticulously sculpted using data from thousands of actual matches, which includes information about the players’ physical strength, running speed, shooting accuracy, and field-habits.
Equipped with the biggest motion capture space in Asia for video games, GALA Sports has captured more than 2,000 hours of professional football players’ on-field motions and movements. The database can present on mobile devices nearly all conceivable human movements and behaviors that may take place on the football field. All of these features fulfill users’ fantasy to win the Golden Ball in their own games.

Reaching new heights in Hong Kong IPO

With its public offering period starting on 30 December 2022, GALA Sports is earnestly proud to be the first publicly-listed mobile sports games developer stock in the Hong Kong stock market.

The group intends to use the net proceeds raised from the listing to further strengthen its competitiveness, especially in renewing and obtaining new IP licensing from international sports leagues and associations.

The group foresees strong prospects for market growth as its own data shows that both Daily Active Users (DAU) and Monthly Active Users (MAU) have recorded steady growth, while Total Registered Users have increased significantly to 34.31 million as of 30 June 2022.

As the revenue of the PRC online sports simulation games market is expected to increase from RMB 4.3 billion in 2021 to 6.7 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 9.3 percent, the group will bolster marketing efforts to promote its games in both the PRC and overseas market to tap into these rich potentials.

As a tech-driven company, GALA Sports devotes more than 10 percent of its annual revenue to upgrade its research and development capabilities. There are formidable entry barriers to the gaming industry, and building on its technical expertise and its strategic relationships with IP right holders, GALA Sports is well placed to consolidate its achievements and cement its leadership position in this competitive market.