China: The Largest Video Game Industry in the World

With more than 665 million gamers as of 2021, China is the largest market in the world in terms of video games. Influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the sales revenue of the Chinese video-gaming industry hit its all-time high with 278 billion yuan, which is an increase of 47.8 billion yuan from 2019. Now, even as the effects of the pandemic are slowly chipping away, the Chinese video-gaming industry continues to grow as it hits a sales revenue of 77 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 5.32% compared to the first quarter of 2020. 

Image Source: Marketing to China

As a Chinese myself, I can definitely confirm the booming of video games in China. When I visited China in the summer of 2020, I found that almost every restaurant has an internet connection. Some even have video-games themed food, or activities. The popularity of video games became even more apparent when I started hanging out with my friends who took school in China. When I was trying to plan something fun for the week, some told me that they preferred to stay home and play video games. And even when they came outside, they spent most of their time playing a mobile game called "Honor of Kings" developed by Tencent. Interestingly, when they invited me to look at their "god performances" on their screens, many of them had multiple cosmetics that needed to be purchased in-game using real currencies. Although I can't say that my case applies everywhere, it can definitely serve as an example of how influential video games have become in China, especially mobile games. With more creative and innovative functions being added, many mobile games in China have become a social platform for people to make friends online. Among the younger generations in China, video games have already become a significant part of their culture. 

Image Source: Sixth Tone

This might sound surprising, but the rise in the popularity of video games partially has to do with China's fast economic development in the past few years. To fasten its economic growth, China made many Chinese face long working hours, tough competitions, and high pressure in school. Desperate of something to relieve their daily hassles and stress, many turned to video games, especially the younger generations. In 2019, more than 75% of gamers in China ages under 35 years old. To be more exact, 23.1% of gamers in China ages under 18 years old, 27.7% of gamers in China ages between 18-25 years old, and 24.3% of gamers in China ages between 26-35 years old. 

Image Source: China Daily

In recent years, playing video games has become a central part of Chinese youth culture, and it has been reflected in both everyday life and the media. Many movies and TV series produced in China included some aspects of video games, and they have seen great success among the viewers. Some of the most popular ones include: Go Go Squid (2019 Series), The King's Avatar (2019 Series), and The Player (2021 Series). 

Image Source: Wikipedia

In the "14th Five-Year Plan" issued by the Chinese government recently, much emphasis was put on the future development of the e-sport and video games industry. So without a doubt, China will introduce more policies to advocate for the development of the gaming-entertainment industry. Also, in recent years, many colleges and universities in China have opened e-sport as a major choice to cultivate more professional e-sport talents. Given its already-existing enormous enthusiasm for e-sports and video games (92.8 million "e-sport enthusiasts"), China will most likely remain as the largest and most lucrative gaming market globally.