China now world’s largest online gaming market

Global Business

China now is also the biggest online gaming market in the world, surpassing U.S. and Japan, but it’s not rosy for every company. CCTV’s Yang Zhao reports.

China now world\'s largest online gaming market

China now is also the biggest online gaming market in the world, surpassing U.S. and Japan, but it's not rosy for every company. CCTV's Yang Zhao reports.

More than 18 years ago, Zhang Lei was just a boy crazy for video games, now, he is a veteran game developer in a field that is on the rise in China.

The Chinese gaming market saw $22 billion in revenue in 2015, and China has the world’s largest Internet user population.

But survival isn’t easy. Many Chinese gaming companies face capital shortages. Some say small and medium-sized developers lose out.

“In 2014, nearly all venture capitalists refused to invest in game-related programs. We could only raise funds from industry peers. In 2015, this channel has been blocked. Revenues have been split by giants,” Sun Jianfeng, founder of Firewing Games said.

Big companies such as Tencent and Netease, which hold massive cash reserves and large user bases, dominate the industry. Tencent, for example, can launch its games through its messaging services such as QQ and WeChat and instantly reach more than 600 million users.

“The only way to survive is to explore the niche market that was not fully seized by the giants. For example, we develop strategy games when giants are focusing on role-playing games,” Sun said.


Market analyst Stephanie Llamas on China’s growing gaming industry

For more on China’s growing gaming sector, CCTV interviewed Stephanie Llamas, director of research at SuperData, a gaming market research company.

Market analyst Stephanie Llamas on China\'s growing gaming industry

For more on China's growing gaming sector, CCTV interviewed Stephanie Llamas, director of research at SuperData, a gaming market research company.