Chinese Gaming Market Surges To $20 Billion In Revenue, Player Count Sets New Record

The number of video game players in China has reached a record-breaking 668 million, according to a government-run association for the game industry. Following a severe assault, this growth indicates a return to prosperity for the largest gaming market in the world.

This number represents approximately half of the country's population as of the end of June.

During an industry conference in Shanghai, the CGIGC (China Game Industry Development Blue Book Committee) reported that the domestic gaming market's sales revenue for the first half of this year totaled $14.26 billion.

Director of the CGIGC Zhang Yijun expressed optimism for the future of the industry, stating that China's gaming industry is progressively emerging from a slump and exhibiting an upward trend.

The government's assault on the gaming industry in China led to a decline in the country's gamer population in 2012. This crackdown was initiated in response to videogame addiction concerns.

Major domestic gaming companies like Tencent Holdings and NetEase suffered significant revenue and market value losses as a result of the enforcement.

Nevertheless, the gaming industry has not yet entirely recovered from the crackdown's effects. First-half 2021 sales revenue decreased from 150.49 billion yuan to 144.263 billion yuan.

As part of a crackdown, authorities halted the licencing of new games for approximately eight months between 2021 and 2022. Now, however, regulations have been loosened.

On Wednesday, regulators issued the most recent set of game licences, allowing 88 games to be released in July.

According to Citi Bank analyst Alicia Yap, approximately 90 games were approved per month in 2023. This equates to 1,000 to 1,100 domestic contests for the entire year, which is nearly double the numbers from 2022.

Yap is optimistic that the domestic game certification process will remain stable in the second half of this year.

State-media The Securities Daily reported on Wednesday that the rate at which video games are released in China remains sluggish. Only 23 of the 88 games that were approved as of January have been released or have a confirmed release date.