What Babeltime does

Babeltime (巴别时代) is a Beijing-based mobile game developer and global publisher founded in 2009, operating with a reported 501-1000 employees across offices in Beijing (headquarters), Hainan, and the United States. The company's core franchise is the proprietary 'Release the Three Kingdoms' (放开那三国) IP — a card-collection / SLG series set in the Three Kingdoms era — released across three installments in 2014, 2016, and 2020 and built on the Unity engine with proprietary 3D rendering technology. A secondary title, 'Realm Defense' (帝国守卫战), is an action tower defense game marketed globally.

Name

Babeltime

Legal name

北京巴别时代科技股份有限公司

Website

https://babeltime.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Babeltime is a Beijing-headquartered mobile game developer and global publisher founded in 2009, best known for its proprietary Three Kingdoms-themed card/SLG franchise 'Release the Three Kingdoms' and the tower defense title 'Realm Defense', serving tens of millions of freemium players across Asia and North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Games

NAICS

Amusement Arcades (71312)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Mobile & F2P Game Studios (MPAFAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mobile Game Publishing & App Game Stores (BPAMAKAB)

Keywords

• Mobile game development
• Mobile game publishing
• Card strategy games
• Tower defense games
• Freemium games

Headquarters

HQ city

Haidian

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Mobile Game Monetization: Free-to-play mobile games with in-game purchases (freemium model). Players can download games for free but purchase virtual items, character skins, costumes, and other premium content within the games. Multiple games include special events, new character skins (超凡皮肤, 琉金时装), and seasonal content that drive monetization.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Babeltime (北京巴别时代科技股份有限公司) develops and publishes mobile games, with its flagship "Unchain the Three Kingdoms" (放开那三国) card-based strategy franchise spanning three installments (2014, 2016, 2020) and the "Realm Defense" (帝国守卫战) action tower defense game. Games are distributed globally via major app stores and the company's own gaming platform, zuiyouxi.com, under a freemium monetization model with in-game purchases.

Product overview

Babeltime is a mobile game development and publishing company offering multiple game titles across different genres. The core product portfolio consists of the '放开那三国' (Unchain the Three Kingdoms) series—a well-established IP spanning three installments from 2014 to present, featuring card-based strategy gameplay with Q-moe graphics and Three Kingdoms theming. Complementing this is '帝国守卫战' (Realm Defense), an action tower defense game. The company also developed a TV series '小戏骨之放开那三国' with over 50 million views. All products are distributed globally across Asia, North America, and Southeast Asia markets, serving tens of millions of players worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 放开那三国 (Release the Three Kingdoms): flagship IP series featuring card-based strategy games set in the Three Kingdoms era, including multiple installments (放开那三国, 放开那三国2, 放开那三国3)
• 帝国守卫战 (Realm Defense)

Products and services

• Unchain the Three Kingdoms (放开那三国) Card-based strategy mobile game set in the Three Kingdoms era, the first installment in Babeltime's flagship Unchain the Three Kingdoms IP. Targeted at mobile gamers seeking Chinese historical-themed card strategy entertainment with free-to-play access and in-game purchase opportunities.
• Unchain the Three Kingdoms 2 (放开那三国2) Official sequel card strategy mobile game continuing the Unchain the Three Kingdoms franchise with refreshed classic character art, exclusive combat animations, and signature dialogue. Released in 2016 for global mobile gaming audiences.
• Unchain the Three Kingdoms 3 (放开那三国3) Latest installment in the Unchain the Three Kingdoms series featuring upgraded 3D visuals and innovative gameplay combining card-collection mechanics with SLG core gameplay. Targeted at mobile gamers seeking deeper strategy gameplay within the established franchise.
• Realm Defense (帝国守卫战) Action tower defense mobile game set in the fictional Atra world, where players deploy defensive towers, recruit heroes with mystical powers, and customize strategies to defend territories against monster invasions. Popular with millions of global players across multiple regions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 放开那三国 reached #1 on App Store bestseller list upon launch in 2014
• +3 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• NetEase Games: Major incumbent Chinese publisher with a broad portfolio (Onmyoji, Identity V, Naraka: Bladepoint); overlapping in mobile F2P RPG/strategy publishing and global distribution.
• Tencent Games: Largest Chinese game publisher (Honor of Kings, PUBG Mobile); sets the competitive bar for UA spending and IP reach in the Chinese mobile market Babeltime competes in.
• Zynga (now part of Take-Two): Major mobile F2P publisher with live-ops social/strategy titles comparable in genre and monetization model; relevant benchmark for what scaled mobile game operations look like.

Direct peers

• Lilith Games: Shanghai-based mobile game studio publishing globally successful card/strategy and RPG titles (e.g., Rise of Kingdoms, AFK Arena) under a freemium model; competes in the same Chinese mobile strategy genre that Babeltime's Three Kingdoms series plays in.
• Supercell: Finnish mobile game studio behind Clash Royale and Clash of Clans, operating card/strategy titles in a freemium live-ops model with global app-store reach comparable to Babeltime's distribution footprint.
• miHoYo / HoYoverse: China-founded game studio behind Genshin Impact and Honkai; relevant as a Chinese mobile-first developer with global publishing reach and genre-bending live-ops models that compete for the same free-to-play mobile strategy player wallet.
• IGG Inc. Hong Kong-headquartered mobile game publisher with globally distributed strategy titles (e.g., Lords Mobile) and a comparable freemium + multi-region publishing playbook.
• FunPlus: China-founded mobile game publisher (King of Avalon, State of Survival) with global free-to-play strategy titles; competes for the same top-grossing strategy slot in overseas app stores.

Emerging players

• Playrix: Mobile game developer of casual/puzzle titles (Homescapes, Township) under a freemium live-ops model; relevant peer for free-to-play mobile monetization and casual-player audience overlap.
• Yostar Limited: Mobile game publisher specializing in Asian-IP localization and overseas publishing of titles like Azur Lane and Blue Archive; competes for the same overseas mobile strategy audience and Asia-region publishing relationships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Babeltime