“China Game Industry Report from January to June 2022” was officially released 

“China Game Industry Report from January to June 2022” was officially released

On July 21st, directed by the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, hosted by the China Audio and Digital Association Game Working Committee, China Audio and Digital Association E-sports Working Committee, and Shangyu District, Shaoxing City, E-you Town, China Game Industry Research Institute, Gamma Data The co-organized 2022 China Game Industry Innovation and Development Forum was held in Shangyu, Zhejiang. Zhang Yijun, the first vice chairman of the China Audiovisual and Digital Publishing Association and chairman of the Game Working Committee, officially released the “China Game Industry Report from January to June 2022” at the event, and explained the report in detail: Zhang Yijun, the first vice chairman of the China Audiovisual and Digital Publishing Association and chairman of the Game Working Committee (photo courtesy of the organizer)

Distinguished guests and friends:

Good morning guys! With enthusiasm, everyone came to Shangyu, Shaoxing to participate in the “2022 China Game Industry Innovation and Development Forum” despite the scorching heat. This shows the popularity and charm of this event. Since the beginning of this year, affected by the epidemic, such a large-scale national offline event is rare in the industry. Here, on behalf of the organizers, the Game Publishing Committee and the E-Sports Committee of the China Audio and Digital Association, I would like to congratulate the successful holding of the forum. At the same time, I would like to express my congratulations to the representatives of enterprises, friends from the media and people from all walks of life who care and support the development of the game industry. Sincerely welcome!

2022 is an important year for promoting the healthy development of my country’s digital economy and building a digital China. At the beginning of the year, the magazine “Seeking Truth” published an important article by General Secretary Xi Jinping “Continuously Strengthening, Optimizing and Expanding my country’s Digital Economy”. The article points out that digital technology and digital economy can promote the rapid flow of various resources and elements, accelerate the integration of various market entities, help market entities reconstruct organizational models, achieve cross-border development, break time and space constraints, extend industrial chains, and smooth domestic and foreign economic cycles. .

As an important participant in promoting the rapid development of the digital economy and practicing the digital China strategy, the game industry is also deeply studying and implementing the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions, and actively promoting the in-depth development of digital technologies and industries such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. Integration, the overall social responsibility awareness of the industry, the level of product research and development and the richness of the industrial chain have been continuously improved, and excellent companies and high-quality works have emerged. New highlights and a foothold to promote international exchanges and cooperation.

Under the background that the epidemic situation is still complex and changeable, user dividends have receded significantly, and regulatory rules have continued to tighten, what countermeasures should my country’s game industry take? We will increase our efforts in overseas layout and other aspects, seek opportunities and breakthroughs in the downturn, demonstrate resilience and endurance in the face of adverse trends, and achieve standardized, high-quality, diversified and international development from a higher starting point. We need to observe comprehensively, think deeply and make scientific judgments. In particular, we need to capture inspiration, adjust strategies and find a way out from the survey data and professional information formed during the operation of the industry in the past six months. Over the years, among the many optional big data services for industrial development, the ones that have been widely recognized by the industry in terms of objectivity, authoritativeness and forward-looking are those released regularly by the China Audio and Digital Association Game Industry Research Institute. “China Game Industry Report”.

Below, according to the schedule of this conference, on behalf of the Game Publishing Working Committee of China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, I will summarize and release the main data information formed by the operation of China’s game industry from January to June 2022:

From January to June 2022, due to the large-scale outbreak and repeated impact of the new crown epidemic, the development of the game industry has been seriously affected. A large number of enterprises have increased costs, sharply reduced income, and encountered obvious difficulties in operation, and major economic indicators have shown a downward trend. Many important annual events in the industry, including Chinajoy, have been announced to be postponed or even suspended. In the face of such a severe situation, the game industry has taken a number of measures to actively respond to it, and still has achieved remarkable results in deepening the protection of minors, improving R&D and operation capabilities, strengthening the application of digital technology, and accelerating the cross-border integration of industries. To a certain extent, the adverse impact of the epidemic has been alleviated; many companies have fulfilled their social responsibilities and worked together to overcome the difficulties by donating money and materials and developing anti-epidemic content works.

Let’s take a look at the specific situation of my country’s game industry in the first half of the year. From January to June 2022, the actual sales revenue of the domestic game market was 147.789 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 1.80%, the first year-on-year decline in recent years. The number of game users decreased by 0.13% year-on-year. The “double drop” in market revenue and user scale is mainly due to the decrease in user income during the epidemic, the decrease in consumption willingness, and the continuous increase in operating costs of game companies. The downward trend in the number of users shows that the “demographic dividend” of the game industry has basically disappeared, and the industry may have entered an era of furious competition.

From January to June 2022, the actual sales revenue of self-developed online games in the domestic market was 124.582 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.25%. Affected by the overall market downturn, the domestic market of self-developed games was obviously cold in the first half of the year.

At the same time, strengthening the overseas layout has become a breakthrough for the sustainable development of domestic games.

From January to June 2022, the actual sales revenue of self-developed games in overseas markets was 8.989 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 6.16%, which enabled domestic games to “go global” and maintained a relatively stable growth. However, due to the increase in the cost of overseas purchases and the strengthening of international trade barriers, the growth rate of overseas markets is also slowing down, and the growth rate is lower than the same period last year.

In 2022, the number of countries and regions involved in my country’s mobile games going overseas will increase significantly. The United States and Japan are still the main markets for mobile games going overseas, continuing to occupy the top two positions in the rankings. South Korea, which ranks third, is no longer stable, and the proportion of other regions is increasing year by year. The changes in the ranking data show that my country’s self-developed games are constantly expanding into emerging markets, and the development space is very broad.

Among the overseas self-developed mobile games, strategy, role-playing and shooting games accounted for more than 70% of the revenue. It is worth noting that in the industry report in the first half of last year, the strategy game market accounted for 28% ahead of the second place, and this year’s leading edge is already less than 20%, indicating that the type of self-developed games going overseas is changing from “one super and two strong”. Gradually move towards “three-pronges confrontation”.

In the segmented market, mobile games still occupy the mainstream of the domestic game market, accounting for 74.75% of total revenue; client games account for 20.80%, which is basically stable; the web game market is still shrinking, accounting for only 1.83%.

From January to June 2022, the actual sales revenue of China’s mobile game market was 110.475 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 3.74%. In the first half of the year, due to the lack of popular new products in the mobile game market, revenue mainly relied on the support of original products. In addition, during the epidemic period, users’ income decreased and the desire to buy mobile phones decreased, resulting in a significant shrinkage of the mobile game market.

From January to June 2022, the actual sales revenue of my country’s client game market was 30.74 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.85%. The main reason is that the full-platform distribution model centered on mobile games has become more mature, and the return of user habits has brought a little turning point for client games.

The number of web game servers has been further reduced, and the overall lack of innovation. The actual sales revenue of the market has decreased by 315 million yuan compared with the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 10.40%, and the overall scale is only 2.706 billion yuan. The downward trend has continued for many years.

From January to June 2022, the actual sales revenue of China’s console game market was 881 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 1.02%. Although high-quality console games are more and more popular among consumers, due to the insufficient supply of new console hardware due to the epidemic, and the overall performance of new products was weaker than the same period last year, the console game market revenue in the first half of the year declined slightly.

From January to June 2022, the actual sales revenue of China’s e-sports game market was 63.712 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 11.59%. The negative impact of the epidemic on the e-sports industry is particularly prominent. The significant reduction in offline events and the insufficient supply of live content have led to a significant decline in users’ enthusiasm for participating in online games and their willingness to pay, resulting in a sharp decline in sales revenue. It should be noted that the revenue data released this time does not include e-sports live broadcast, club operations and event revenue. Details will be disclosed in the “China E-sports Industry Report”.

From January to June 2022, the domestic casual game market revenue was 16.968 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.10%. Among them, the sales revenue generated by in-game purchases was 4.621 billion yuan, and the advertising revenue was 12.347 billion yuan. Although the IAA model that relies on advertising monetization is still the main way to obtain income for casual games, the proportion of revenue generated by in-app purchases continues to increase, indicating that the business model of casual games is also undergoing new changes, and the hybrid monetization model of advertising + recharge may become a new trend .

In the first half of 2022, with the joint efforts of colleagues in the industry, my country’s game industry will not be afraid of difficulties, be proactive and forge ahead, and will start from the protection of minors, positive value dissemination, overseas market expansion, technological innovation and application, etc., and achieve success. Achieve solid results and resist risks and challenges.

The journey in the second half of the year has already begun, and it is still necessary for colleagues in the industry to continue to work with one heart and one mind, in accordance with the unified deployment of the competent authorities, to continue to deepen the protection of minors, to inherit and promote Chinese culture with high-quality content, and to fully invest in cross-border integration and digitalization. The national digital economy development strategy of practical integration, actively participate in international competition, continue to promote the standardization, quality, diversification and international development of my country’s game industry, and welcome the victory of the party’s 20th National Congress with more excellent results. Thank you!

Source: People’s Daily Online – Golden News