January Newsletter I China’s Gaming Visions

新年快乐, everyone!

We're back with the January edition of our newsletter, bringing you all the latest from the Chinese gaming market.

As we kickstart the Year of the Snake, let's examine the key market developments that are shaping China's gaming landscape and creating new opportunities for international developers.

Chinese Gaming Market News: January 2025

This month brought with it a lot of interesting year-end data. Some of the highlights are:

Long-Term Market Trends: Epyllion analysis

Industry analysts project continued growth and evolution in China's gaming sector. Key takeaways include:

• Chinese consumers have a strong domestic market preference, with roughly 80% of spend going to local titles. Thus, adapting one's game to not only be liable for import, but to also contain local cultural touchpoints can lead to massive success.
• Chinese developers now account for 42% of worldwide consumer spending growth since 2011. Their success creates opportunities for Western developers to tap into said growth through co-development and publishing deals.

Chinese Publishers' Steam Success?Source: GameLook

Steam data gathered from mid-January reveals the following:

• Chinese publishers occupy 6 out of the top 10 spots on Steam's charts, with both locally developed games and those made by foreign studios. This follows the trend of them being more and more willing to work with Western devs on co-development deals.
• At the same time, Chinese publishers are willing to let devs have autonomy, while providing resources for growth, as demonstrated by the success of Path of Exile 2 and Warframe.
• According to iOS+Google Play revenue statistics, 39 of the top 100 global mobile game publishers in 2024 are from Chinese companies.

The Rise of Rednote Source: The Conversation

Rednote's success has interesting implications:

• A community-focused approach can overcome major cultural barriers, as demonstrated by the app's success in attracting Western users through welcoming, bilingual content initiatives. This works both ways - Chinese gamers are very receptive to content they're familiar with.
• Chinese platforms' success in fostering authentic cultural exchange suggests opportunities for games that emphasize community building and cultural bridges.

Steam Early Access (EA)?Changes Source: PC Gamer

The recent changes to the EA program to show how long it's been since a game has received an update presents a great opportunity in China:

• Chinese players are more likely to play an EA title if it shows it's in active development (roadmaps are a big plus!), even moreso if the reviews are positive.
• If a given game has a presence on Chinese social media (Bilibili in particular), it goes a long way towards building trust with potential players, even if its in EA, leading to better chances of a purchasing decision.

License Approvals and Market Access Source: GameWorld Observer

The approved games of January 2025 tell an interesting story:

• January's batch of 136 game approvals (123 domestic, 13 foreign) continues an overall upward trend of games outside of China being approved.
• In fact, more and more games from the west are receiving this license, with 110 titles getting it in 2024, a 31.7% increase from the year prior, showing that the market is slowly opening up to those willing to adapt their game to it.

As you can clearly see by the above, the Chinese market is getting ever more accessible for people looking to capitalize on its upsides. With that in mind, let's look at how our partners, who've already taken the leap, are doing!

Huqiao Highlights of the Month

The biggest gaming event this month was the Taipei Game Show, which drew 370,000 visitors this year, all eager to explore the latest developments in PC gaming.

Some of the highlights of the partners we represented there are:

Game Smithing:

• Thanks to our joint efforts in adapting their game for Chinese-speakers, their booth was absolutely swarmed by players. Sun Wukong himself stopped by to show his support!

Triple Espresso and Archmage Labs:

• Took full advantage of Chinese New Year by giving away 200 red envelopes (a CNY tradition) with QR codes for their games. It was an absolute hit with showgoers, leading to increased game activity for both post-show.

Outside of TGS, other highlights include:

• Butterscotch Shenanigans' Bilibili channel was voted the most fan-friendly and dedicated on the platform, while also gaining more than 20,000 followers in a year! This massive success has translated to more than doubled wishlists coming from China and multiple offers from local publishers.
• Toplitz had a big month on Chinese social media, with their games getting a combined total of 740k+ views through influencer campaigns, showing the power of maintaining an ongoing relationship with them.
• Mechanistry's Timberborn ran a special Chinese New Year marketing campaign, in which beavers got special CNY tails. This simple addition garnered a great reaction from Chinese players, resulting in a spike in follower growth across their socials!

As we've seen this month, from major market shifts to individual success stories, the Chinese gaming market continues to evolve and welcome international developers. Whether you're just starting to consider China as your next market or looking to expand your existing presence, there's never been a better time to take that next step.

That's it from us for now. Subscribe to our newsletter for more Chinese gaming market insights and we'll see you in the next edition!

Huqiao Team