Social games platform company PapayaMobile announced support for operator billing for in-app purchases made by customers of the world’s biggest operator, China Mobile.

PapayaMobile’s AppFlood SDK enables Android app and games developers to add charges to the phone bills or pay-as-you-go credit of the operator’s more than 710 million subscribers.

The SDK also gives developers working with PapayaMobile access to the commission-free cross-promotion ad network AppFlood, allowing them to buy, sell or exchange ads and traffic with other developers, advertisers and publishers in China.

The direct billing system is the first available to independent developers wanting to monetise individual games in China, the company said. Previously, developers had to be part of a larger social game network.

“With the integration of our AppFlood SDK with China Mobile, PapayaMobile is taking the lead in opening up the lucrative Chinese mobile market to developers worldwide,” said Si Shen, PapayaMobile’s CEO.

The first freemium game to launch in China supporting the new billing feature is arcade shooter iBomber, from Cobra Mobile (pictured). The iBomber franchise is “already a critical and commercial hit on iOS”, having been downloaded more than 10 million times worldwide, PapayaMobile said.