Chinese game companies level up their overseas expansion

Chinese video game companies are rapidly gaining traction overseas, becoming a key driver of the country's service trade.

In the first half of 2025, Chinese-developed video games generated around $9.5 billion in overseas sales revenue, up 11 percent year on year.

The first Chinese-developed triple-A title, "Black Myth: Wukong," inspired by the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West," showcases world-class graphics and artistic design.

People pose for photos at the photo area of "Black Myth: Wukong" during Gamescom 2024 in Cologne, Germany, on Aug. 22, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

"Where Winds Meet," an open-world role-playing game, uses advanced rendering technology to faithfully reproduce intricate architectural details. A gameplay demonstration video for the title received over 50 million views on overseas platforms.

Another Chinese-developed RPG, "Persona 5: The Phantom X," topped iOS free game charts in 35 countries and regions during its public beta.

Industry experts noted that China's overseas success in video games stems from a mature development and operational ecosystem powered by cutting-edge technologies.

Zheng Nan, deputy secretary-general of the game publishing working committee of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, said the rising overseas revenue of Chinese video games is fundamentally driven by a comprehensive development ecosystem — spanning research and development, operations and commercialization — focused on producing high-quality titles.

Chinese game companies have mastered advanced engine technology, artistic design and game development expertise, enabling them to produce triple-A mobile and cross-platform games, according to Zheng.

Their deep understanding of free-to-play models and operational expertise further strengthens their competitive edge, Zheng added.

Tang Junhua, director of gaming industry solutions at Baidu AI Cloud, a cloud service provider under Chinese tech giant Baidu, noted that combining traditional development methods with AI-assisted game creation has significantly accelerated production. The approach reduces art asset generation time by over 80 percent and speeds up 3D modeling and animation creation five- to tenfold.

An executive at Chinese game company Perfect World Co., Ltd. pointed out that AI-generated content (AIGC) technology is reshaping content production pipelines, boosting content iteration efficiency.

Wang Xu, co-founder and chief analyst at Gamma Data, a Chinese research institute specializing in the gaming industry, said that Chinese game companies are globally competitive in AIGC, engine development, cloud gaming and cross-platform technologies, enabling high-quality, efficient, globally synchronized development and operations.

Chinese game companies have established standardized pipelines for overseas expansion, covering all stages from game design, art and programming to operations, enabling them to rapidly respond to global market demands, Wang noted.

Beyond technological and operational strengths, Chinese culture is also a key driver behind the high-quality development and global appeal of Chinese-developed video games.

By integrating traditional cultural elements into video games, developers have successfully engaged global audiences, offering an immersive, culturally enhanced gaming experience.

In "Black Myth: Wukong," characters retain their original pinyin names, encouraging international players to explore "Journey to the West."

The Chinese-developed open-world adventure RPG "Genshin Impact" features a Sea Lantern Festival inspired by China's Spring Festival (also known as Chinese New Year) and Lantern Festival. The seasonal in-game event introduces new storylines and gameplay elements, incorporating traditional Chinese folk customs every year during the Chinese New Year.

Traditional activities such as fireworks displays, lantern viewing and lantern riddle guessing have been featured during the Sea Lantern Festival, which has grown into a highly anticipated annual celebration for players around the world.

Policy support has provided crucial backing for the overseas expansion of Chinese game companies.

"A series of supportive policies introduced at both the national and local levels have provided institutional support for companies expanding overseas, helping Chinese game companies shift from fragmented efforts to a more systematic and strategic approach to overseas expansion," said Wang.

In 2025, China's Ministry of Commerce announced measures to facilitate the overseas expansion of Chinese game companies, covering the creation and development of original intellectual property, game production, publishing, and overseas operations.

Regional policies, such as south China's Guangdong Province's initiative to create a "game export cluster," have provided strong support for smaller developers and fostered collaboration across the creative, hardware and IP sectors.

Experts believe that localized content and sophisticated operations in emerging markets will offer significant opportunities, and that AI-driven innovation represents a key opportunity for the overseas expansion of Chinese game companies.

The next wave of expansion will focus on deeply customized development and operations that cater to local cultures, social habits and payment behaviors, said Zheng.

AI-driven innovation represents a major opportunity, as AI is set to transform game development, user experience and operations, according to Zheng, who noted that companies that embrace AI early are likely to gain a significant competitive advantage.

Wang pointed out that future growth in the overseas expansion of Chinese game companies will depend on several key product innovations. These include products that enable cross-platform data connectivity across mobile, PC and console platforms (PS5/Xbox); products that create closed-loop ecosystems combining games, esports and community; and products that deliver AI-driven interactive experiences.