BEIJING - Chinese mobile games have seen a remarkable expansion in the overseas market throughout 2020, according to Sensor Tower, a mobile app data analysis firm.

The top 30 profitable Chinese mobile games raked in $9.24 billion from the App Store and Google Play last year, up 47 percent year-on-year from $6.3 billion in 2019, the firm said.

A total of 37 Chinese mobile games became earners of more than $100 million in overseas markets, 12 more than in 2019.

Japan replaced the United States to become the most popular overseas market for Chinese game publishers in 2020. Japanese gamers prefer Chinese games more in terms of culture and aesthetics, the firm said.

Last year, the top 30 Chinese mobile games garnered $2.8 billion from the Japanese market, surging 81 percent year-on-year.

The mobile version of the battle royale game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, commonly known as PUBG Mobile, continued to top the list with an overseas earning of $1.06 billion in 2020. Since its debut in early 2018, the mobile game has raked in a total of $2.1 billion from the overseas market.

Genshin Impact, an open-world mobile game published by the miHoYo, saw its overseas revenue reach $160 million in October last year, setting a new record for the Chinese game's monthly earning in the global mobile game market. Previously, the record was held by PUBG Mobile, which pulled in a revenue of $90 million in July 2019.