Walking the Line: WeChat announces 70 million international users

KakaoTalk has just revealed it has 100 million users.

Meanwhile Line hit 150 million users in May.

Tencent's mobile messaging app WeChat announced it had 300 million users in January, but today's news is all about its international reach.

Up from 50 million users in May, it now has 70 million users outside of China.

This is important for mobile game developers because WeChat is about to open up its network to games.

Both Line and KakaoTalk have proved to be massive drivers of audience and revenue with games integrating their services riding high in the top grossing Google Play charts in Japan and Korea respectively.

WeChat is expected to provide a similar opportunity in China in the coming months, but it's the international expansion of these social networks within Asia, and more widely, that is now being closely watched.

WeChat is already strong in Southeast Asia - Thailand, India, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore - while Kakao has recently added Vietnam and Indonesia to its Korean heartland.

Line is strongest in Japan, but also has large audiences in Thailand and Taiwan.

Interestingly both Line and KakaoTalk are find a growing market in recession-hit Spain, while Tencent says that WeChat is picking up users in Mexico and South America.

Indeed, it's just signed a deal with Argentinian footballer, and world player of the year, Lionel Messi to further push its brand in the region.