How to Plan the Chinese Release of Your Game and Avoid Stress

China is a gaming market no developer or publisher aiming for success in mobile gaming can afford to ignore. In a series of three guest articles, Lana Bokay-Poltavets and Boris Burangulov from My.games share their insights and lessons learned from marketing games in China. This one is about planing a release in China.

The journey of a thousand miles always begins with a single step, and when it comes to entering the Chinese market, that step starts with obtaining an ISBN license. An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) license for Chinese mobile games is a mandatory approval issued by the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) of China. Without this license, a game cannot be officially released, distributed, or monetized in the Chinese market.

But if you think the process gets easier once the license is in your hands, you might want to adjust your expectations. What lies ahead is more like an adventure — one filled with scheduling puzzles and scope assessment challenges that will test your patience and planning skills.

Launching a Chinese version of your game is a complex and multifaceted project with a high degree of uncertainty. The foundation of your project is laid during the planning stage, and mistakes made here can be costly — from team burnout to delayed release timelines and the inevitable domino effect of shifting deadlines. In this article, I’ll share our team’s experiences with task scheduling and scope estimation, reflect on the missteps we encountered, and explore what could have been done differently — if only I had the ability to turn back time.

The Background

Before diving into our solutions, let me first outline the initial conditions we were working with.

• Game: War Robots, a mobile third-person tactical shooter, has been live since 2014. Over its ten years of operation, it has generated more than $1 billion in revenue.
• 2018: in the first half of the year, we submitted an application for an ISBN license.
• 2020: by the end of the year, we had lost hope of obtaining approval to enter the Chinese market.
• March 21, 2023: we unexpectedly received the ISBN license but were entirely unprepared to develop a Chinese version of the game. Our plans for 2023 were completely different.

If you work in game development, you’re probably familiar with the thrill of tackling complex and unconventional tasks. The more challenging the problem, the more exciting life becomes — after all, how else will you build up a trove of fascinating stories to share with your grandchildren someday? So, we enthusiastically jumped into action with a goal that was both clear and daunting: to release the iOS version of War Robots in China by the end of 2023.

Key workstreams for scope estimation

From the outset, we identified four major workstreams as essential to delivering a release-ready Chinese version of War Robots or, as it’s known locally, 机甲战队:

1. Analytics setup
   
   
2. Login flow rework
   
   
3. Localization
   
   
4. Culturalization (adapting content, mechanics, and creatives) and compliance with regulatory requirements
   
   

These elements were intended to ensure the game was fully prepared for release. By April 2023, we had formed a team, collected requirements from our publisher, and began planning tasks on our end. After estimating the total scope of work, we anticipated completing the iOS version by the end of July. However, early in development, we decided to expand the scope to include an Android release as well. This brought an additional, complex workstream into play:

1. SDK integration with our publisher’s system.
This "one-plugin-to-rule-them-all" module contained subsystems for ID verification, game authorization, payment systems, and more.

As a result, our timeline extended into September 2023.

Our approach to scheduling and estimation

We followed fairly standard methods for task scheduling and scope estimation:

1. Requirement gathering: the publisher provided us with the necessary documentation, and we also consulted with experts and other studios that had experience launching games in China. This included learning about the challenges other teams had faced.
   
   
2. Team setup: we brought in our strongest experts who were eager to work on the Chinese version.
   
   
3. Task decomposition: we broke down, scheduled, and estimated each task.
   
   
4. Visualization: for particularly complex tasks, we used Miro to create visual workflows, which we aligned with the publisher. For example, reworking the login flow involved unusual splash screen sequences, account-switching options, and support linkages that weren’t part of our global version.
   
   
5. Methodology:

• For straightforward, linear tasks like content redesign, we used a Waterfall approach. It is a linear and sequential software development model where each phase must be completed before moving to the next. Waterfall is ideal for development when strict planning, compliance, and predictability are required, such as for projects with fixed requirements or regulatory approvals. Its structured approach ensures clear phases, regulatory compliance, reduced scope creep, predictable resource planning, and comprehensive testing. However, it comes with risks like limited flexibility, late-stage issue discovery, and longer time to market.
  
  
• For areas with higher uncertainty, such as Pangu SDK integration, we adopted an iterative approach.
  
  

1. Risk buffers: We accounted for potential risks in our schedule.

We felt reasonably in control — until we weren’t. Unanticipated issues emerged, leading us to the inevitable section:

Lessons Learnt

1. Misaligned Assumptions

What seems obvious to one team may not be clear to another. For instance, your publisher might assume that step A naturally precedes step B and fail to communicate this dependency.

• Case in practice: we weren’t aware that Android stores build requires additional testing stages before release. These checks revealed numerous bugs that needed fixing, delaying our release. The delay wasn’t major, but it taught us to scrutinize dependencies more closely.
  
  
• Takeaway: detail your workflows as much as possible and encourage your publisher to do the same. Exchanging risk registers can help both parties identify challenges and align expectations.

2. Direct Communication with the Publisher

If feasible, add key team members (game designers, monetization managers, developers, QA specialists) to the publisher's communication channels early. Direct communication fosters quicker resolutions.

• Case in practice: our team communicated with the publisher via Lark, including a game designer, four developers (platform, client, server teams), a QA engineer, two analysts, a DevOps engineer, two producers, and a PM.
  
  
• Takeaway: while communication became faster, it also required significant time and energy, particularly when adapting to a different culture. Factor this into your planning.

3. Changing Regulations

In China, regulatory changes can significantly impact your project.

• Case in practice: in August 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) introduced mandatory ICP filing for all mobile apps. Starting September 1, 2023, existing apps were required to complete registration by March 2024, while new apps needed ICP approval before release. This extended our timeline by three months.
  
  
• Takeaway: anticipate regulatory delays as part of your risk planning and address these contingencies in contracts with your publisher.

What I would have done differently

1. Invest in detailed planning: in hindsight, more time spent clarifying requirements and creating a comprehensive roadmap would have saved time later.
   
   
2. Schedule more coordination meetings: a cross-team call uncovered significant analytics and SDK integration tasks we had initially overlooked. At that point, we thought we were 90% done, but we were actually only at 30%.
   
   
3. We spent time researching the changes made to other foreign games released in China, including adjustments to in-game mechanics, content modifications, and cultural localization. However, our publisher suggested entirely different alterations. The final list of restricted and approved elements surprised us, as it deviated significantly from our expectations.
   
   
4. Deepen risk analysis: I regret not dedicating more time to a thorough risk registry, which would have helped us anticipate and mitigate many issues.
   
   

Adapting a game for the Chinese market is a monumental challenge, but with careful planning, robust communication, and a willingness to learn from mistakes, it’s a challenge worth taking on.

Lana Bokay-Poltavets...

is Senior Project Manager at War Robots, My.games. Lana is a dedicated project manager at War Robots with a background in community management and business development. She holds a degree in Chinese Studies (Sinology) and an MBA in Project Management. This, paired with her deep knowledge of Chinese culture, helps her lead War Robots' release in the local market and effectively oversee cross-cultural workflows. Lana believes project management unlocks team potential. She works in gamedev because she believes in its ability to unite people and create supportive communities.

Boris Burangulov...

is Executive Producer at War Robots, My.games. With a Master’s degree in Marketing, Boris began his journey in game development as a product analyst in mobile games. He then spent three years leading War Robots as an Executive Producer, driving the game's growth and success. His expertise lies in analytics, monetization, and live-ops. In addition to his professional role, Boris is an experienced speaker at global conferences (e.g. GDC), where he shares insights on game monetization, metagame strategies and the evolving landscape of free-to-play gaming.

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