Things You Need to Know About the 2024 Chinese Gaming Market
In 2024, the Chinese gaming industry set numerous records, and here are some things you should know about it.
Hello and welcome to "GameTaoChina." I have decided to start writing engaging game stories from 2025 onwards. In my first piece, I wish to introduce the milestones achieved by the Chinese gaming industry in 2024, as voted by the players with their hard-earned money, which reflects the progress and enhancement of China's gaming sector. For ease of calculation, I have fixed the exchange rate at 1 USD to 7 RMB.
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This article will cover three aspects:
The scale of the Chinese gaming market
The phenomenal game - "Black Myth: Wukong" and its significance
The outlook for the Chinese gaming industry in 2025
2024 Chinese Gaming Market Data
At the outset, I would like to briefly introduce the overall size of the Chinese gaming market to give readers who are unfamiliar with it a general impression. According to the "2024 China Gaming Industry Report" released by the China Game Industry Network, the main data formed in the development of China's gaming industry in 2024 are as follows:
"In 2024, the actual sales revenue of the domestic gaming market reached 46.5 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 7.53%, reaching a new high. The number of Chinese gamers reached 674 million, a year-on-year increase of 0.94%, also a historical high point.
The actual sales revenue of Chinese self-developed games in overseas markets was 18.557 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 13.39%, reaching a new high. Faced with a global gaming market experiencing slowing growth and increasingly fierce competition, Chinese gaming companies actively responded to meet the needs of players in overseas markets.
In 2024, in the regional distribution of actual sales revenue of Chinese self-developed mobile games in overseas markets, the United States accounted for 31.06%, Japan for 17.32%, and South Korea for 8.89%. These three countries remain the main overseas target markets for Chinese self-developed games, with a combined share of 57.27%, showing a slight decrease year-on-year."
Comparison with the Global Gaming Market
According to the data released in the "2024 Newzoo Global Games Market Report", the global gaming market is expected to generate $187.7 billion in revenue in 2024, marking a 2.1% increase year-on-year. The Chinese market accounts for approximately 25% of this total. In 2024, the global number of gamers is projected to reach 3.42 billion, a 4.5% increase from the previous year, with Chinese gamers making up 20% of this figure. Additionally, the number of paying gamers worldwide is to hit 1.5 billion in 2024.
The data on China's pay-to-play games in 2024
Why do I place greater emphasis on the data of China's pay-to-play games? Because, unlike China's traditional free-to-play games, they more accurately reflect the support and affection of players for the games. Two decades ago, a vast number of Chinese players embraced the model of playing free games, with in-game item purchases as the means of monetization. If you wish to understand what Chinese-style online games are like, there is a humorous game on Steam where you can deeply experience how Chinese players are ensnared by various in-game purchase traps.
Here, I would like to particularly point out that within the global entertainment industry, the scale of the gaming market surpasses that of the film market. Gaming is the largest entertainment industry in many countries. However, this is not the case in China. The Chinese film market in 2024 was valued at 6 billion USD. In contrast, the sales of Chinese-produced pay-to-play games in 2024 amounted to only 1.5 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 398.5%, accounting for 3% of the overall domestic gaming market. Among these, the total sales of the top 20 new games reached approximately 1.3 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 1160.8%. Both the number of sales and the sales revenue have hit historic highs.
Among them, "Black Myth: Wukong," produced by Game Science, achieved sales of 28 million copies across all platforms, with sales revenue reaching 1.3 billion USD. It has set a record for the highest sales in the history of pay-to-play games and topped the global sales chart for 2024, which is truly remarkable. In contrast, the second-place "Soulmask" sold only 550,000 copies, with sales revenue less than 13 million USD, a vast difference.
The aforementioned data is sourced from statistics compiled by netizens on Chinese Baidu forums, who have been engaged in this statistical work and releasing reports for a decade. I believe the data is of relatively high credibility.
Game of the Year 2024 - Black Myth: Wukong
Forty years ago, the television series "Journey to the West" pioneered the genre of Chinese mythological TV dramas, causing a sensation across Chinese society upon its broadcast and becoming a classic in Chinese film and television. Four decades later, "Black Myth: Wukong" has also initiated a new chapter in China's development of AAA games, with 3 million players online across all platforms at launch, setting a record for the number of online players for a single-player game on the Steam platform. In society, a plethora of official media outlets have reported and promoted it, sparking a cultural tourism boom in Shanxi Province, China. August 2024 was its month to shine.
"Black Myth" has not only won the affection and recognition of Chinese players but has also garnered the Best Game awards in overseas markets such as the UK, Thailand, and Brazil. It stands as a truly vibrant and influential case of Chinese culture being exported abroad. It has popularized the story and philosophical concepts of "Journey to the West" to global players, marking a cultural promotion that will be recorded in history.
Steam Game Awards for Best Game
British Golden Joystick Awards：Game of the Year and Best Visual Design
TGA Game Awards for Best Action Game and Player's Voice
The production team members of 'Black Myth: Wukong' at The Game Awards (TGA) ceremony
The outlook for the Chinese gaming industry in 2025
Honestly, it's incredibly fortunate for me to gradually witness the continuous development and improvement of the Chinese gaming industry, providing better gaming works for both domestic and global players. Growing up, my childhood was influenced by Japanese arcade games and Korean online games, and I never knew what good gaming works or game aesthetics were. My childhood only can play pirated games, and I grew up in a society where public opinion stigmatized games as electronic heroin, with parents generally not supporting children's exposure to video games. Until today, the Chinese gaming industry has finally produced a true piece of art, changing everyone's perception of games. This is also the reason why I want to introduce you to excellent Chinese games.
I think I will introduce some Chinese-made games that I am following in 2025 in my next article. I look forward to your replies and comments.