Number of online gamers in China hits record high of 668 million

SHANGHAI, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The number of online gamers in China has reached a record high of 668 million, according to a report released Friday.

The report was issued by the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association (CADPA) at ChinaJoy, Asia's biggest games event held annually in Shanghai, which opened on Friday.

The report showed that the revenue of China's online gaming market in the first half of 2023 reached 144.26 billion yuan (about 20.1 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 22.2 percent from the second half of 2022.

Another report released concurrently showed that the number of e-sports players in China has hit 487 million, while the revenue of China's e-sports industry reached 75.99 billion yuan in the first half of the year, up 11.74 percent from the second half of 2022.

Zhang Yijun, an official with the CADPA, noted that China's online gaming industry is recovering and showing steady growth momentum.

In September this year, e-sports will become one of the events of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, which is expected to boost the e-sports industry in China, Zhang added.