Today, I’m joined by Magnus Lysell, co-founder of Light Up Games and a former product manager at Paradox Interactive, where he worked on games including Cities: Skylines and Surviving Mars. He now helps developers and publishers launch games globally, with a particular focus on China.

We talked about why game developers often think about China too late, how publishing and marketing games there actually works, and what developers need to know about localization, Steam, Bilibili, Heybox, pricing and local partners.

If you’re a game developer, studio founder or publisher looking to reach more players, understand the Chinese games market or build a smarter global publishing strategy, then this episode is for you!

Connect with Magnus:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/magnuslysell/
Website: https://lightup.games/en

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phokou/
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:45 Magnus Lysell and Light Up Games
03:10 What game developers get wrong about publishing
03:56 Why studios treat China as an afterthought
05:49 Why a launch trailer isn’t enough in China
06:40 How early should you prepare for China?
08:02 Do you need an ISBN to publish in China?
09:20 Can you sell PC games through Steam in China?
10:11 Which games perform well in China?
11:24 A 3-step strategy for entering the Chinese market
12:08 How important can China be for game revenue?
13:19 How poor localization can hurt your game
14:17 From Paradox to game publishing
15:44 How to price games for the Chinese market
17:18 Magnus’s advice for game developers
18:15 Why game developers should know about Heybox