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China Mobile Games Market & 5-Year Forecast Report 2023

  • Report

  • 70 Pages
  • June 2023
  • Region: China
  • Niko Partners, Inc.
  • ID: 5337920

The Total Market for PC, Mobile and Console Games Revenue in China was $45.5 Billion in 2022 and is Forecast to Surpass $57 Billion in 2027

What you'll learn from this report:

China remains a powerhouse in the global games industry. It is the largest games market globally with one-third of the global mobile games revenue generated domestically. At the same time, Chinese game companies are expanding their reach globally, accounting for 47% of mobile games revenue worldwide. As the country reopens and its gaming sector sees a rebound, it is important to deeply understand the Chinese gaming scene from companies & games-to-watch to regulations and games licenses. And despite regulatory and licensing challenges, several international hit game titles are available in China via platforms such as Steam International. There are other loopholes in the ISBN system as well, which are important to understand.

This latest report on the mobile games market in China provides a comprehensive guide and insightful analysis to those aiming to navigate and tap into the lucrative China market.

Key takeaways from the analysis:

  • The total market for PC, mobile and console games revenue in China was $45.5 billion in 2022 and is forecast to surpass $57 billion in 2027
  • China continues to be the largest market globally with 31.7% of global mobile games revenue generated domestically
  • By 2027 China will be home to 730 million gamers. The country's population is declining but the number of gamers is rising. Nearly one-third (31%) of the entire domestic Chinese market is spent on mobile games.
  • China's market and Chinese companies cannot be ignored. Chinese companies account for 47% of mobile games revenue worldwide, including the domestic China market
  • Tencent and NetEase commanded a combined 61% share of domestic PC and mobile games revenue in 2022. While the duopoly continues to dominate the games market, the combined market share was lower than in 2021 due to weak performance from legacy titles and a lack of new title launches - indicating other competitors are building ground.
  • The publisher projects that more than 1,000 domestic games and 100 imported games will be approved in 2023, surpassing 2021 and 2022 totals.

 

Table of Contents

1. Market Size and Forecast
  • A comprehensive market model and 5-year forecast through 2027
2. Growth Drivers and Inhibitors
  • Key growth drivers and inhibitor for mobile games revenue in 2023 and beyond
  • Overall outlook for 2023
  • International and domestic revenue growth projections
3. Mobile Games Market Update
  • Genres to watch
  • Games to watch
  • Analysis of top titles in 2022 by IP and new launches
  • Other key developments
4. Mobile Games Market Trends
  • Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) technology
  • Metaverse games
  • Popular genres and platforms
  • Cross industry collaborations
5. Gamer Survey Results and Analysis
  • Findings of our proprietary survey of 1,575 Chinese gamers
  • Qualitative and quantitative analysis on gamer demand, gaming and spending behavior, and usage for mobile games
6. Top Mobile Games, Publishers and App Stores
  • Top iOS games by revenue and downloads
  • Top iOS game publishers by revenue and downloads
  • Top app stores for smartphone and tablet gamers
  • Top iOS and Google Play games published by a Chinese company internationally
7. Esports and Livestreaming
  • Esports industry revenue and outlook
  • Top esports game genres and titles
  • Policies and regulatory frameworks
  • Gamer engagement with esports
  • Livestreaming metrics
  • Top platforms for watching gaming and esports content
8. Hardware and Technology
  • 5G subscriptions and internet penetration
  • Gaming smartphones
  • Play-to-earn (P2E) concept and web3 games
9. Regulations and M&A
  • Overview on new regulations and measures of industry bodies
  • NPPA licensing and license forecasts
  • Investment activity
List of Exhibits:
  • China mobile games revenue ($MM)
  • China mobile gamers (M)
  • Weekly online hours of internet users
  • China annual GDP growth (2023 est.)
  • China mobile games revenue (2021-2027) ($MM)
  • Top 20 grossing titles in 2022 by launch year
  • % of revenue from top 10 games (2022)
  • % of revenue from top 10 publishers (2022)
  • Top mobile game genres by revenue (2022)
  • Top mobile game genres by download (2022)
  • Top 50 grossing IOS games by IP type in 2022
  • Income breakdown
  • Age breakdown
  • Employment breakdown
  • Most played games in the last 3 months
  • Average hours played per week
  • Average hours per week playing mobile games
  • Average spend per month on mobile games
  • Payment method used for mobile games
  • Reason for making in game purchases
  • Most disliked aspect of video games
  • Items purchased most in mobile games
  • Finding information about new games
  • Thoughts on in-game ads
  • Reasons why gamers do not make in-game purchases
  • Reasons that motivate gamers to start making in-game purchases
  • Most important criteria when choosing a new game to play
  • Market share of game companies in China’s domestic games market 2022
  • Top app markets for smartphone users
  • Top app markets for tablet gamers
  • China mobile game international revenue ($Billion)
  • Esports aspirations
  • Gamer engagement with esports
  • Viewers, tips, and streamers for mobile games on live streaming platforms
  • Top genres across the China Games Streaming Tracker
  • Time spent watching online contents (hours per week)
  • Streaming platforms used to watch gaming and esports content
  • 5G smartphones as a % of total sell-through
  • Average selling price for smartphones in 2022($)
  • Smartphone sales by RAM in 2022(GB)
  • Awareness of new game mechanics
  • Interest in new game mechanics
  • Game licenses (ISBNs) issued by the NPPA since the April 2022 restart
  • PRC company-led game related investments (2021-April 2023)

Companies Mentioned

  • 37 Interactive
  • 7road
  • Aisno Games
  • Alibaba
  • Alipay
  • Apple
  • Baidu
  • Bilibili
  • Black Shark
  • Blizzard Entertainment
  • Bytedance
  • Cheetah Technology
  • CMGE
  • Douyin
  • Duoyi
  • Farlight Games
  • G-Bits
  • Giant Interactive
  • Habby
  • Happy Elements
  • Hero Games
  • HoYoverse
  • Huawei
  • HyperGryph
  • iDreamsky
  • iQOO
  • Jingjiu Games
  • JJWorld
  • JP Morgan
  • Kuaishou
  • Lenovo
  • Level Infinite
  • Li-ning
  • Lilith Games
  • Longtu
  • Meeting Shero
  • Microsoft
  • miHoYo
  • NetEase
  • OnePlus
  • Oppo
  • Ourpalm
  • Outfit7
  • Perfect World
  • Realme
  • Riot Games
  • Shiyue
  • SNK
  • TapTap
  • Tencent
  • Tuyoo
  • Vivo
  • WeChat
  • Weipai Network
  • Xiaomi
  • Yongshi Tech
  • Zlongame