Top Direction Machinery (Shenzhen)

What Top Direction Machinery (Shenzhen) does

XD Inc. (Top Direction Machinery (Shenzhen), doing business as GA黄金甲) is a Chinese game developer, publisher, and platform operator headquartered in Shanghai and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (02400.HK) since April 2020. The company operates three integrated business lines: first-party game development (titles such as 伊瑟 / Eiyu, GA黄金甲小镇, 出发吧麦芬, and 铃兰之剑), licensed and agency publishing (Ragnarok Online: Eternal Love, Another Eden, #COMPASS, 神仙道, and 香肠派对), and the TapTap game discovery platform. The model is designed to be self-reinforcing: exclusive self-developed content drives TapTap user growth, while TapTap's user base and developer services create distribution leverage for new and published titles.

TapTap differentiates itself from Apple App Store and Google Play through a first-party 'official packages, zero revenue share, premium quality' policy that has made it a favored distribution channel for indie and mid-sized developers in China. The platform is operated by subsidiary 易玩（上海）网络科技有限公司 and is supplemented by TapTap Developer Services (TDS) — a B2B infrastructure suite that includes account systems, social/friend graphs, embedded community, TapDB analytics, instant messaging, cloud engine, and anti-DDoS protection. TDS was materially expanded through the April 2021 acquisition of backend-as-a-service provider LeanCloud.

The company employs over 2,000 people (as of 2021), derives revenue from in-app purchases and battle passes on self-developed games, advertising and premium TapTap services, and IP licensing. Strategic IP moves include the December 2025 announcement to acquire the global Torchlight franchise IP. Game technology is built on Unreal Engine and Unity, with cross-platform data sync (Android, iOS, PC) supported on flagship titles like Eiyu. The company also pursues industry positioning through initiatives such as the 'Anti-Online Black and Grey Products Alliance' with Alibaba Cloud, MiHoYo, and other major players.

Name

Top Direction Machinery (Shenzhen)

Legal name

XD Inc.

Website

https://td-machinery.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

XD Inc. (GA黄金甲) is a Chinese game developer, publisher, and TapTap platform operator serving global mobile gamers and indie game developers, with a 'no commission' distribution model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Gaming Platform

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Game Distribution Platforms & Storefronts (PC/Mobile/Console) (MPAFABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Social/UGC Game Platforms with Integrated Stores (MPAFACAG), Mobile Game Publishing & App Game Stores (BPAMAKAB)

Keywords

• Mobile game development
• Game publishing platform
• Mobile gaming community
• Game distribution services
• Mobile RPG games

Headquarters

HQ city

Shenzhen

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Game Publishing Revenue: Revenue from publishing and distributing self-developed and licensed games through TapTap and other platforms. The company generates income from game sales, in-app purchases, and battle passes.
2. TapTap Platform Services: TapTap operates on a non-commission model for developers, generating revenue through advertising, developer services (TDS), and premium features while maintaining zero revenue split policy.
3. IP Licensing: Revenue from acquiring and licensing gaming IPs such as the Torchlight series, with plans to continue brand development and content innovation.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Top Direction Machinery (Shenzhen), operating as GA黄金甲 (XD Inc.), develops and publishes mobile games including 伊瑟 (Eiyu), 出发吧麦芬, GA黄金甲小镇, and 铃兰之剑, and operates the TapTap game discovery and community platform. The company combines first-party game development with third-party game publishing and distribution through TapTap, Apple App Store, and Google Play, supplemented by TapTap Developer Services (TDS) for indie studios.

Product overview

Top Direction Machinery (Shenzhen) operates as a game development and publishing company under the XD Inc. (GA黄金甲) brand. The company's product portfolio centers on self-developed games (伊瑟, GA黄金甲小镇, 出发吧麦芬, 铃兰之剑) and licensed/agent games (仙境传说RO, 香肠派对, 神仙道高清重制版, 战斗天赋解析系统, 另一个伊甸), complemented by the TapTap gaming platform. The strategy emphasizes 'exclusive content driving TapTap user growth' with a long-term development approach rather than short-term ROI optimization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TapTap: A mobile game discovery platform operated by 易玩（上海）网络科技有限公司. TapTap is known for its 'official packages, zero revenue share, high-quality' business model and serves as a high-quality player community and game recommendation platform.
• 黄金甲游戏
• 黄金甲小镇
• TDS (TapTap Developer Services)

Products and services

• 伊瑟 (Eiyu) An Esper hero-raising RPG where players encounter hundreds of Heteromorphs (异格者) and build diverse team compositions to battle unknown forces in a mysterious virtual city. Built with Unreal Engine, supports Android, iOS, and PC with cross-platform data synchronization.
• GA黄金甲小镇 (GA Golden Armor Town) A self-developed slow-paced life simulation game where players experience fishing, cooking, cat-raising, gardening, bug-catching, and bird-watching on a whimsical island. No stamina limits, no daily task constraints, with random 12-player town neighborhoods and seamless open-world map.
• 出发吧麦芬 (Set Off, Mafne) A healing adventure idle RPG where players embark on grand adventures, defeat monsters, and drive RVs toward distant horizons. Combines idle gameplay with MMO-style nurturing mechanics.
• 铃兰之剑：为了和平的世界 (Sword of Convallaria) A neo-retro hardcore SRPG (strategy RPG) tribute to the golden age of the genre, featuring pixel-art world built with NeoPixel technology, refined strategic chess-like combat mechanics, and rich multi-chapter single-player campaigns.
• 另一个伊甸：超越时空的猫 (Another Eden) A Japanese RPG mobile game published by GA黄金甲 in China, originally developed by Japan's WFS. Features 1.9 million words of text combining ancient legends, future technology, and traditional fantasy elements.
• 仙境传说RO：守护永恒的爱 (Ragnarok Online M) An open-world adventure MMORPG mobile game officially licensed by Gravity, based on the 2003 MMORPG RO. Distributed globally in over 50 countries and regions, faithfully recreating the original PC game's classic settings.
• 香肠派对 (Sausage Man) A 3D shooting game co-developed with Xiamen Zhenyouqu, exclusively published on TapTap. Uses long-range development strategy and serves as a flagship product demonstrating exclusive content driving TapTap user growth.
• 战斗天赋解析系统 (#COMPASS) A Japanese-style real-time competitive mobile game exclusively published by GA黄金甲, co-developed by NHN PlayArt and dwango. Features 3v3 point-capture gameplay with 3-minute matches.
• TapTap A mobile game discovery platform and high-quality player community operated by 易玩（上海）网络科技有限公司 (TapTap), a subsidiary of XD Inc. Follows the 'official packages, zero revenue share, premium quality' business model, providing personalized game recommendations powered by AI and serving as a primary distribution channel for self-developed and third-party games.

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Torchlight IP Rights HolderscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 December 2025GA黄金甲 announced completion of acquisition of Torchlight series IP, gaining all global intellectual property rights including trademarks. This follows the Torchlight: Infinite project collaboration.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lilith Games: Lilith Games is a leading Chinese mobile game developer (AFK Arena, Rise of Kingdoms) with strong global publishing capabilities. It is comparable to XD Inc. as a fellow Chinese developer focused on high-quality mobile RPGs with international reach.
• Perfect World Games: Perfect World is a Chinese game developer and publisher with both self-developed MMOs (Perfect World, Tower of Fantasy) and publishing operations including licensed titles. It is comparable to XD Inc. in combining self-development with multi-title publishing across PC and mobile.
• miHoYo's HoYoLAB: HoYoLAB is miHoYo's official community and game-information platform integrated with its titles. Like TapTap, it combines game discovery, community, developer updates, and AI-driven recommendations — though TapTap is multi-publisher while HoYoLAB is publisher-specific.
• Epic Games: Epic Games operates the Epic Games Store, a third-party PC game distribution platform that competes on developer-friendly terms (lower revenue share than Steam) while also publishing its own titles (Fortnite). This dual developer-plus-platform model directly parallels XD Inc.'s TapTap-plus-self-development structure.
• miHoYo (HoYoverse): miHoYo is a leading Chinese game developer and publisher (Genshin Impact, Honkai) with global distribution across mobile, PC, and console. XD Inc.'s self-developed slate (伊瑟, 铃兰之剑) and global tournament ambitions directly mirror miHoYo's model of cross-platform high-quality RPGs with synchronized progression.

Emerging players

• Roblox Corporation: Roblox operates a UGC game platform with an integrated economy and developer tools, attracting a global community of players and creators. While UGC-focused rather than curated like TapTap, it shares the platform-plus-developer-tools model and emphasizes zero/low revenue share for creators.

Broad incumbents

• Valve (Steam): Valve operates Steam, the dominant global PC game distribution and community platform. Steam and TapTap share the same platform model — distribution, community, recommendations, and developer services — making Valve the closest analog for TapTap's strategic positioning, though Valve focuses on PC while TapTap is mobile-first.
• NetEase Games: NetEase is one of China's largest game developers and publishers with a portfolio spanning self-developed titles (Onmyoji, Identity V) and licensed IP (Diablo Immortal, MARVEL). It shares XD Inc.'s combined developer-plus-publisher model and competes for Chinese gamer mindshare and R&D talent.
• Tencent Games: Tencent Games is the world's largest gaming company by revenue, operating WeGame (a Chinese game distribution platform), developing/publishing AAA titles (PUBG Mobile, Honor of Kings), and investing in studios globally. WeGame is the most direct analog to TapTap's distribution-plus-community model in China.

Others

• Gravity Corporation: Gravity Corporation is the Korean developer/IP holder of Ragnarok Online and licensor to XD Inc. for 仙境传说RO: 守护永恒的爱. As an IP-licensing counterparty and fellow Asian RPG developer/publisher, Gravity is a relevant comparability reference for XD Inc.'s licensed publishing business.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/top-direction-machinery-shenzhen-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 Top Direction Machinery (Shenzhen)