WeChat claims 500 million monthly users actively playing in

More than 500 million active users play games in China’s super app WeChat on a monthly basis, the company has said, an eye-catching figure that demonstrates the channel’s potential as a driver of advertising revenue for parent firm Tencent. According to WeChat, half of these users live in third-tier cities and the majority are female. Mini-program games, which can be quickly launched within WeChat, now account for 15% of the messaging app’s total advertising revenue, the company revealed on Tuesday. WeChat also noted that more than 80% of mini-game developers are small-scale teams of below 30 staff. At least 240 in-app games have generated over RMB 10 million ($1.38 million) in quarterly revenue in the past 12 months, according to WeChat’s figures. [Caixin, in Chinese]