App Annie, a US-based app market data provider, released its top 52 app publishers of 2018 on Feb 26, revealing the top-earning publishers globally on the iOS and Google Play stores.

China's Tencent grabbed the top spot for an impressive third consecutive year, and NetEase (China) retained its second spot, App Annie said.

Asia-Pacific app publishers have dominated the top 52 in the past years, with seven of the top 10 app publishers in 2018 headquartered in Asia-Pacific.

Revenue rankings are based on revenue earned from paid downloads and in-app purchases on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store, said App Annie, adding that revenue earned from in-app advertising or subscriptions outside app store channels are not included.