How many of the past six years' most popular casual games have you played?

The gaming industry is constantly evolving. When you’re in the thick of it, it all feels like business as usual, but when you step back and look at the bigger picture, you realize that the tide of time has already swept the industry through a complete transformation.

In 2020, I officially joined Tea House and began focusing on the casual gaming sector. Over the past five years, I’ve witnessed the frenzy surrounding hit games that went viral and broke into the mainstream, and I’ve also seen many titles fade away in disappointment. As I’ve gradually learned and grown from a newcomer to the industry, the casual gaming market has also undergone several major shifts during this time, completing a complete transformation.

Quite coincidentally, the Golden Tea Awards, organized by Teahouse, officially introduced the “Best Casual Game” category in 2019—the very first year I joined the company—and has since accompanied and witnessed the ups and downs and growth of this sector. Flipping through the list of past winners is like leafing through a vivid history of the evolution of casual games.One hit title after another clearly traces the evolution and development trajectory of the domestic casual gaming market over the past six years.

01

The Boom in Casual Mobile Games

（2019-2021）

As we entered 2019, the domestic casual gaming sector had fully moved beyond its early exploratory phase and officially entered a period of widespread prosperity.

Previously, casual games were primarily single-player titles with light gameplay, featuring monotonous and inefficient monetization models. Most development teams faced the dilemma of receiving critical acclaim but failing to attract a large player base, making it difficult to generate stable revenue to support long-term growth. However, with the strong entry of leading advertising platforms such as ByteDance’s Pangolin Alliance and Tencent’s Youlianghui, coupled with the mature implementation of video reward-based advertising models, the industry has reached a critical turning point.

Launched in 2010, rewarded video ads entered a phase of rapid growth in 2019, with the market growing at an annual rate of over 15%, becoming a mainstream advertising format. Its model—where “users actively watch ads in exchange for in-game rewards”—not only ensures a free experience for casual players but also unlocks commercial value through high conversion rates, making it the “core engine” of monetization for casual games.Data shows that the eCPM for rewarded video ads can reach 1.5 to 3 times that of splash screen ads and 1.3 to 2.5 times that of interstitial ads, with an average conversion rate exceeding 20%—several times, or even tenfold, higher than traditional ad formats.

Throughout this process, the Pangolin Alliance and Youlianghui—backed by the traffic and technological support of ByteDance and Tencent—have provided casual game developers with stable and efficient monetization channels, fully unlocking the sector’s commercial potential and driving the industry’s transition from a “traffic dividend” to a “revenue dividend.”

During this period, *Dream Garden*, imported from overseas, broke the boundaries of traditional casual gaming with its innovative blend of match-three and simulation gameplay; meanwhile, *Legend of Archery* became a phenomenon by combining Roguelike random elements with intuitive controls. Both titles successfully secured spots on the Golden Tea Awards list thanks to their sophisticated monetization strategies and high-quality content.

At the same time, Ohayoo—ByteDance’s casual game publishing platform—entered the market with its robust traffic resources and sophisticated publishing capabilities, further invigorating the market and helping high-quality titles such as *Agent 6: Secret Mission* and *Jade Master* quickly reach a massive player base. This sparked an industry boom characterized by a steady stream of hit games and a rush to capitalize on the trend.

However, the industry’s euphoria did not last long. By the end of 2021, rumors began to circulate that Ohayoo would scale back or even abandon its casual game publishing business, bringing this phase of explosive growth to a somewhat suspenseful close.

02

The Rapid Growth of Casual Games (2022)

For the domestic casual gaming industry, 2022 was truly a “year of winter.” Due to multiple factors, including a general slowdown in the industry, the casual gaming market experienced its first-ever temporary decline. That year, the number of casual game downloads in China was approximately 1.63 billion, a 3% year-over-year decrease; the market size was approximately 34.4 billion yuan, a decline of about 0.62% year-over-year—marking the first such decline since 2018.

I still remember writing in an industry report at the time: “In 2022, the battle for survival among casual game teams entered ‘Hell Mode’”—many small and medium-sized teams focused on the mobile gaming sector were forced to exit the market due to cash flow shortages and sluggish user growth, leaving the industry in a state of silence.

However, against the backdrop of an overall market contraction, the mini-games sector has bucked the trend and entered a golden age of growth. Leveraging the natural traffic advantages of social platforms like WeChat, mini-games—with their lightweight features of “instant play without downloads”—perfectly meet users’ needs for entertainment during short, fragmented moments.

Among them, the sudden emergence of *Sheep Sheep* pushed the popularity of mini-games to its peak.This seemingly simple match-three game successfully sparked players’ desire for challenge and to share the game through its stark contrast between an accessible first level and a hellishly difficult second level, combined with features like provincial leaderboards and social sharing to revive characters. Within 24 hours, the servers crashed three times, and related topics on Weibo garnered over 1.66 billion views, making it a phenomenon-level product that captured the nation’s attention.With its “Hard Fun” design philosophy, it demonstrated the immense potential of mini-games in driving viral growth and user retention, prompting the entire industry to reevaluate the value of this sector. Around the same time, *Lie Flat and Level Up* stormed the charts with its innovative tower defense gameplay, joining *Sheep Sheep* in keeping the industry’s momentum alive during a market downturn.

At the same time, the overseas expansion of casual games has begun to gain traction. Titles such as *Shell Strike* have achieved impressive results in overseas markets thanks to their global gameplay design and localized operations, opening up new avenues for growth in the industry.

However, the development of mini-games at this stage is still constrained by the underlying technology of the platforms, and with relatively limited advertiser resources, their commercial potential has not yet been fully realized.

03

Casual games have fully matured

(2023–present)

In 2023, underlying technologies for mini-game platforms such as WeChat achieved a major breakthrough, effectively hitting the “accelerator” for the mini-game sector. The complete resolution of technical bottlenecks has led to a qualitative leap in the quality of mid-to-hardcore mini-games—with graphics resolution, operational fluidity, and content capacity now on par with native apps. Complex game modes such as SLG and MOBA, which were previously difficult to implement due to performance limitations, can now be rendered stably and run smoothly on mini-game platforms.

It was also during this year that phenomenon-level hits such as *King of Salted Fish*, *Journey Through the Vast Universe*, and *Endless Winter* were released one after another. With their diverse gameplay and high-quality experiences, these titles became household names among players, not only demonstrating the potential of this sector following technological breakthroughs but also sparking an industry-wide boom in mid-to-hardcore casual games.

As we enter 2024, the mini-game market has officially entered a mature phase, exhibiting a flourishing and diverse landscape at its peak.An increasing number of major studios are entering the market with high-quality IPs and mature development expertise, leading to a continuous influx of mid-to-hardcore mini-games. Product types are becoming increasingly diverse and rich: ranging from Chinese-style masterpieces like *This City Has Good Farmland*, which blends simulation management with strategic progression, to lightweight card games like *Little Soldiers: Battle Royale*, which focus on fast-paced competitive gameplay, covering the full spectrum of user needs from casual entertainment to deep immersion.

This year, we have introduced a new category in the Golden Tea Awards—the “Outstanding Mini-Game of the Year” award—to recognize these exceptional products. Today’s mini-game market has long shed its label as a “niche segment” and has grown into a core growth driver for the casual gaming industry. Its clear path of evolution and vibrant growth serve as a vivid example of how the domestic gaming industry drives innovation through technology and wins over the market with compelling content.

Today, the market continues to evolve, and the casual gaming sector is still writing a new chapter.Judging by current trends, market competition has returned to a product-centric focus, and the pursuit of high-quality products has become the prevailing trend; the pace of globalization is also accelerating, driving more and more companies to actively expand into emerging markets and tap into new growth opportunities; on the operational front, IP integration is gaining widespread attention as a key strategy for deepening emotional connections with users; and in terms of monetization, hybrid monetization models that fully unlock user value have become the industry standard.

Of course, no matter how the market evolves, we will continue to keep a close eye on industry trends, witness the emergence of more outstanding titles, and observe the ongoing evolution of the sector. We also warmly welcome more teams specializing in casual games and mini-games to sign up for this year’s Golden Tea Awards.

Finally, let’s take a look back at some of the outstanding products that have won the Golden Tea Award over the years:

Best Casual Game of 2019

"Dream Garden," "Legend of the Bow," "Travel Skewers"

Best Casual Game of 2020

"Agent No. 6: Secret Mission," "The Cat Apartment"

Best Casual Game of 2021

"Moore Manor," "The Strongest Snail," "Jade Master," "Call Me the Head Manager"

Best Casual Game of 2022

"Lying Low and Leveling Up," "The Shell Squad," "The Hot Pot Restaurant on Happiness Road"

Best Casual Game of 2023

"This City Has Good Farmland," "The Little Chick Fleet Sets Sail," "Dad's Noodle Shop"

Best Casual Game of 2024

"A Home Deep in the Peach Blossom Spring," "Heart-Fluttering Town"

2024 Outstanding Mini-Games

"King's Journey," "Tower Defense Spirits," "Little Soldiers, Big Battle," "This City Has Good Farmland"

The excitement continues in 2025—we look forward to having you join us.