China’s Video Game Community Thrives with Unprecedented Growth by End-June
HONG KONG: The video game player population in China has reached an all-time high of 668 million, according to a state-run game industry association.
This surge comes as the largest game market in the world recovers from a severe crackdown, with the number of gamers, as of end-June, accounting for about half of China’s population.
During the first half of the year, the domestic gaming market also witnessed significant sales revenue of 144.263 billion yuan, as reported by the CGIGC during an industry conference in Shanghai.
“Against the backdrop of a sluggish global gaming market, China’s gaming industry is gradually emerging from a trough and showing an upward trend,” said Zhang Yijun, a director at the CGIGC, during the conference. He also emphasized the need to boost industry confidence to face challenges in the second half of the year.
Last year, China’s gamer population experienced a decline for the first time due to a sweeping government crackdown on the industry over concerns of gaming addiction. This crackdown led to significant revenue losses and market value reduction for many domestic gaming giants, including Tencent Holdings and NetEase.
Although gaming revenue has not yet returned to pre-crackdown levels, there has been a gradual recovery since the loosening of regulations. Authorities recently approved 88 games to hit the market for the month of July, signaling a positive development.
Alicia Yap, an analyst at Citi Bank, expressed confidence in a steady domestic game approval process heading into the second half of the year, with up to 90 games expected to be approved each month, nearly double the figures from 2022.
However, state-media Securities Daily reported separately that the actual rate of game launches remains slow, with only 23 out of the 88 games approved as of January being launched or having a confirmed launch date.
