China's Game Market Revenue Hits RMB 188.45 Billion in H1 2026, Up 12.17%

China's game market achieved actual sales revenue of RMB 188.45 billion in the first half of 2026, up 12.17% year on year. As of the end of June, the number of game users stood at 684 million, an increase of 0.82% from a year earlier. The data came from the "2026 January-June China Game Industry Report," released at the China International Digital Entertainment Industry Conference (CDEC) held in Shanghai on July 30.

In the first half, domestically developed games generated actual sales revenue of RMB 163.356 billion in the domestic market, up 16.31% year on year. Overseas sales revenue from self-developed games reached USD 12.372 billion, up 30.22%. The top overseas markets for self-developed mobile games by revenue were the United States (32.31%), Japan (14.05%), and South Korea (7.48%), while Germany, the United Kingdom, and France together accounted for 10.14%.

By domestic segment, mobile games generated actual sales revenue of RMB 135.21 billion, up 7.9%, accounting for 71.75% of total market revenue. Client games revenue reached RMB 45.288 billion, up 27.92%, representing 24.03% of the total. Web games revenue was RMB 2.016 billion, down 8.47%, marking a third consecutive year of decline. Console games revenue was RMB 961 million, down 7.06%, mainly due to waning popularity of the 2024 blockbuster "Black Myth: Wukong" and a lack of subsequent new titles.

Esports game market revenue reached RMB 89.616 billion, up 11.12%. Casual mobile games revenue was RMB 18.205 billion, up 10.74%. Mini-program mobile games revenue totaled RMB 31.657 billion, up 36.01%, of which in-app purchases contributed RMB 21.137 billion (66.8%) and advertising monetization contributed RMB 10.520 billion (33.2%). Anime-style mobile games revenue was RMB 13.269 billion, down 8.97%.

The report for the first time included the tabletop games category. In the first half, tabletop games market actual sales revenue reached RMB 3.868 billion, up 4.03%, comprising digital tabletop games revenue of RMB 1.997 billion and physical tabletop games revenue of RMB 1.870 billion.

The report noted that the game industry's scale expanded significantly in the first half, with client games and overseas games performing notably well. Multiple regions have successively introduced game-support policies, and AI technology is penetrating the entire industry chain. The global penetration rate of AI technology among game companies reached 86%, and the Steam platform has marked over 10,000 games as AI-assisted creations. Domestically, Tencent's AI creation system has reduced high-precision character modeling time to minutes, while companies such as Shengqu Games, Giant Network, Youzu Interactive, and 37 Interactive Entertainment have also stepped up their AI technology deployment.