(Yicai Global) Oct. 24 -- China's video and mobile game sales declined in the high season of the third quarter due to poor performance in the mobile game market.

From July to September, all game sales fell by 19 percent from a year earlier, according to a recent report from Gamma Data. The quarter tends to be a peak period for gaming due to a two-month school holiday. When comparing to the second quarter, sales slid by 13 percent, while the slowdown was narrowing from a quarter earlier.

In the third quarter, mobile game sales dropped by 25 percent to CNY41.6 billion (USD5.7 billion) as the number of active players and hours spent playing declined and users' ability to pay weakened. The trend goes beyond China. Globally, mobile game revenues fell 13 percent in the third quarter to USD19.3 billion, according to a report Sensor Tower released earlier. Last quarter, games independently developed by Chinese vendors grossed USD4.3 billion in sales, down 4 percent from the second quarter, per the CNG report.

Large internet firms, especially Tencent Holdings, remained strong despite the sluggish market environment. Six of the top 10 mobile games, including the two top-ranking games of Honor of Kings and Game for Peace, are developed by the Shenzhen-based behemoth.

Two mobile games from Hangzhou-based NetEase made the list compiled by CNG. Fantasy Westward Journey is No. 3 on the list and Diablo Immortal, the only newcomer in the group, is No. 5. The remaining two mobile games in the top 10 list are Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition from Alibaba Group Holding's Lingxi Interactive and Genshin Impact from MiHoYo.

The soft demand has affected game developers. Beijing-based Perfect World revealed a 44 percent slump in net profit to CNY304 million (USD41.9 million) in the third quarter from a year earlier, the firm said in a statement on Oct. 20. Revenue slid by 29 percent to CNY1.8 billion (USD248.3 million).

Editors: Xu Wei, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi