China Game Industry Report H1 2025 Released

China Game Industry Report H1 2025 Released: User Base Reaches 679 Million with Market Revenue Hitting 168 Billion Yuan, Setting New Records

The China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association (CADPA) officially released the “China Game Industry Report for January-June 2025” at the CDEC summit forum during 2025 ChinaJoy. The report shows that in the first half of 2025, China’s game user base reached 679 million, a year-on-year increase of 0.72%, setting a new historical record. Meanwhile, the domestic game market’s actual sales revenue reached 168 billion yuan, up 14.08% year-on-year, also achieving a new milestone.

Dual Growth in Market Revenue and User Base, Mobile Games Remain Dominant

The report indicates that the market growth was primarily driven by strong performance of new releases, stable operation of long-standing games, and rapid development of esports and mini-program games. Among these, mobile games contributed the most, generating 1.25309 trillion yuan in revenue in H1, up 16.55% year-on-year, accounting for 74.59% of the total market. Client games saw revenue of 354.03 billion yuan (+4.86% YoY), while the web game market continued to shrink, with revenue dropping 5.87% to 22.03 billion yuan.

Mini-Program Games Show Rapid Growth; Esports and Console Markets Shine

Mini-program games emerged as the fastest-growing segment, with H1 revenue reaching 23.276 billion yuan (+40.2% YoY), of which in-app purchases accounted for 65.7% and ad monetization made up 34.3%. Additionally, the esports game market achieved revenue of 80.645 billion yuan (+16.64% YoY), benefiting from major tournaments and new releases. Although the console game market remains relatively small, it demonstrated strong growth, with revenue rising 29.78% to 1.034 billion yuan, largely driven by hit titles such as Black Myth: Wukong.

Self-Developed Games Advance in Domestic and Overseas Markets

In H1 2025, self-developed games generated 1.40452 trillion yuan in domestic revenue (+19.29% YoY), while overseas revenue reached $9.501 billion (+11.07% YoY). The U.S., Japan, and South Korea remained the primary overseas markets, collectively accounting for 55.63% of total overseas revenue, followed by European markets (Germany, UK, France) at 8.78%.

Industry Trends: Policy Support, AI Empowerment, and Enhanced Minor Protection

Zhang Yijun, First Vice Chairman of CADPA, highlighted five key trends in the 2025 game industry:

• Increased policy support driving high-quality industry development;
• Accelerated technological innovation and AI adoption, with intelligent upgrades becoming more prominent;
• Strengthened minor protection, improving market health;
• “Games+” cross-industry integration, expanding new consumption scenarios;
• Optimized talent development systems, supporting long-term industry growth.

Looking ahead, with deeper AI integration and continued focus on premium content strategies, China’s game market is expected to maintain steady growth.

About CADPA

The China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association (CADPA) is a national-level industry organization dedicated to promoting the healthy development of the digital entertainment industry.

Note: Data sourced from the official *China Game Industry Report for January-June 2025*, as of July 31, 2025.