Record high! China's game market revenue reached 168 billion yuan in the first half of the year, with significant increases in console and casual games, while secondary game revenue declined.

Today (July 31), the China International Digital Entertainment Industry Conference (CDEC) Summit Forum was officially held in Pudong, and the following announcements were released on-site.China's Game Industry Report (January-June 2025)(hereinafter referred to as the "Report").

The report shows that,In the first half of this year, the domestic game market generated 168 billion yuan in sales revenue, a year-on-year increase of 14.08%, setting a new record. The number of game users reached nearly 679 million, a year-on-year increase of 0.72%, also a record high.

Among them, the actual revenue of the domestic mobile game market reached 125.309 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.55%.Client-based games generated RMB 35.403 billion in revenue, a year-on-year increase of 4.86%; web games generated RMB 2.203 billion in revenue, a year-on-year decrease of 5.87%, continuing the downward trend; console games generated RMB 1.034 billion in revenue, a significant year-on-year increase of 29.78%.

At the meeting, Zhang Yijun, First Vice Chairman of the China Audio-Visual and Digital Publishing Association, interpreted the report. Zhang Yijun stated that the simultaneous growth of market revenue and user scale was due to several factors:First, many new games performed exceptionally well after their launch, exceeding expectations; second, many long-running games operated well, with revenue steadily increasing; and third, esports and mini-games showed strong growth momentum.

The following is the detailed data from the report:

The report shows that from January to June 2025, the actual sales revenue of the domestic game market reached 168 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.08%, setting a new record. Meanwhile, the number of game users reached nearly 679 million, a year-on-year increase of 0.72%, also a historical high.

Regarding self-developed games, from January to June 2025,The actual sales revenue of self-developed games in the domestic market reached 140.452 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.29%.In overseas markets, the actual sales revenue of self-developed games reached US.501 billion, a year-on-year increase of 11.07%.

In terms of the regional distribution of actual sales revenue of self-developed mobile games in overseas markets,The United States accounted for 31.96%, Japan for 16.20%, and South Korea for 7.47%, remaining the primary overseas target markets.Together, they accounted for 55.63%. In addition, the German, British and French markets accounted for 8.78% of the total, making Europe an important region for Chinese games going global.

Among the top 100 self-developed mobile games in overseas markets by revenue...Strategy games (including SLG) accounted for 43.33% of revenue, ranking first.The revenue share of the first category was 10.02%, a significant increase compared to last year. Role-playing games followed, accounting for 10.02%, a slight decrease year-on-year. Shooting games ranked third, accounting for 8.85%, a slight increase year-on-year. Simulation and idle games saw significant year-on-year revenue declines, while the revenue share of crafting games increased markedly.

In the segmented market, mobile games saw a year-on-year increase in actual sales revenue, accounting for 74.59% and maintaining its dominant position; client games continued to see an increase in actual sales revenue, accounting for 21.07%; and web games accounted for 1.31%.

In the mobile game sector, from January to June 2025, the actual sales revenue of China's mobile game market reached 125.309 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.55%.

Among the top 100 mobile games by revenue, role-playing games accounted for the largest number, at 21%, a slight decrease compared to the same period last year; strategy games (including SLG) accounted for 11%, an increase year-on-year; while card games and casual games both saw a year-on-year decrease.

Among the top 100 highest-grossing mobile games from January to June 2025, multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games had the highest revenue, accounting for 20.42%.Shooting games came in second, accounting for 17.03% of revenue; role-playing games ranked third, accounting for 15.34% of revenue.

Regarding client-based games, the report shows that...From January to June 2025, the actual sales revenue of the client game market reached 35.403 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.86%.In addition, the actual sales revenue of the web game market was 2.203 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 5.87%, continuing the downward trend.

It is worth noting that the Chinese console game market performed exceptionally well in the first half of this year, with actual sales revenue reaching 1.034 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.78%.

In the esports sector, from January to June 2025, the actual sales revenue of China's esports game market reached 80.645 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.64%.

Anime and manga culture has gradually cooled down in the past two years, and by the first half of this year,The actual sales revenue of the ACG (Anime, Comics, and Games) mobile game market was 14.577 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 8.00%.

Another noteworthy point is that the domestic casual mobile game market generated RMB 16.439 billion in sales revenue in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 2.55%. Among them, in-app purchases generated RMB 11.104 billion in sales revenue, accounting for 67.50%; advertising revenue was RMB 5.334 billion, accounting for 32.50%.

The mini-game market has also performed remarkably well.In the first half of this year, the actual sales revenue of the domestic mini-program game market reached 23.276 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 40.20%.Of the total sales revenue generated from internal purchases, RMB 15.303 billion accounted for 65.70%; while revenue from advertising monetization amounted to RMB 7.973 billion, accounting for 34.30%.

Summarize:

In summarizing the performance in the first half of the year, Zhang Yijun stated that the Chinese game industry continued to heat up, with frequent favorable policies, an optimized industry ecosystem, deepened technological innovation, and continued progress in global product distribution and corporate globalization. Looking ahead to the second half of the year, several new products anticipated by the industry and players are expected to be released, and the game market is expected to maintain its growth trend.

Sun Shoushan, chairman of the China Audio-Visual and Digital Publishing Association, also stated that, looking back at the development of my country's game industry in the first half of this year, three aspects are worth noting:

First, the training and education of industry talents has received national policy support.In April of this year, the Ministry of Education formally incorporated game art design into my country's higher education discipline system for the first time, marking a new stage in the systematization and professionalization of game talent cultivation and academic research in my country.

Second, the application of AI technology across the entire industry chain is accelerating.Since the beginning of this year, artificial intelligence technologies, represented by DeepSeek, have been widely applied in the digital content industry. Leading companies such as NetEase, Tencent, and Perfect World (002624.SZ) have taken the lead in building intelligent application systems covering the entire chain of R&D, operation, and user services.

Third, the mini-game market has seen a surge of blockbuster titles, activating new growth momentum.Following "Endless Winter," a new batch of blockbuster products, such as "Time Blast," have entered the market this year, continuously boosting the mini-game market and gradually becoming an important driving force for industry growth.