China’s Gaming Industry Annual Report 2025

China’s Gaming Industry Annual Report 2025: Leading Companies Drive Robust Growth, Fueled by Product Innovation and Global Expansion Strategies

Author:CGGE Ditor Group

Market Overview and Overall Performance

According to publicly available market data, China’s gaming industry showed a significant recovery in 2025, with over two-thirds of domestically listed game companies experiencing an increase in market value. Among these, four companies saw their market value surge by more than 200%, while one-third of the companies achieved gains exceeding 50%, demonstrating strong growth momentum. Following a period of structural adjustment, the industry is now entering a new phase of high-quality development driven by product innovation, refined operations, and globalization strategies.

Industry Leaders at the Helm: Tencent and NetEase Maintain Dominance

Tencent Holdings, as the industry giant, saw its market value increase by approximately 1.44 trillion RMB in 2025. The significant appreciation despite its massive scale highlights the continued resilience and growth potential of its core businesses. Financial reports indicate that the company’s total revenue for the first three quarters reached 557.395 billion RMB, a 14% year-on-year increase. Gaming revenue amounted to 182.3 billion RMB, already approaching the full-year 2024 figure. Legacy titles such as Honor of Kings and Peacekeeper Elite continued their steady contributions, while the successful launch and outstanding market performance of major new releases like Delta Action and Valorant Mobile injected robust new momentum into growth.

NetEase followed closely, with its market value increasing by over 200 billion RMB for the year. The company solidified its position as the industry’s second-largest player through sustained cultivation and content iteration in core segments like MMORPGs and competitive gaming, coupled with steady global expansion.

Exemplars of High Growth: Hit Products Drive Value Leap

Several companies achieved leapfrog growth in market value and performance thanks to phenomenal products:

Century Games and Giant Network became the focus of the year, each seeing their market value rise by over 200%, ranking third and fourth respectively in terms of growth.

Century Games’ new SLG title Kingshot achieved great success overseas, with Sensor Tower data showing it has entered the TOP 2 of the Chinese mobile game overseas revenue chart. Combined with the sustained and stable contributions from its flagship product Whiteout Survival (domestic version: Endless Winter), the company’s revenue for the first three quarters exceeded 27 billion RMB, with profits over 4.3 billion RMB, showing steady quarter-on-quarter growth.

Giant Network’s new secondary-dimensional card strategy product Supernatural Action Squad, launched in January 2025, performed exceptionally strongly, repeatedly breaking into the iOS Top Grossing Chart TOP 10, peaking at fourth place. The product’s robust performance directly drove the company’s Q3 single-quarter revenue to 1.706 billion RMB, a 115% year-on-year increase, with the single-quarter revenue already exceeding the total for the first half of the year.

XD Inc., Tanwan Games, and Dianchu Technology saw their market value double.

XD Inc. benefited from the excellent performance of self-developed products such as Ragnarok M:初心服, Tiny Town, and Torchlight: Infinite, with H1 2025 revenue increasing 38.8% year-on-year and net profit attributable to owners of the parent soaring 268%.

Tanwan Games successfully turned losses into profits, achieving an H1 net profit of 650 million RMB, driven by the explosive domestic launch of Douluo Dalu: Shrek Academy and Little Soldiers: Big Battle, and the chart-topping performance of Bloody Jianghu: Return in the Thai market.

Dianchu Technology’s new product Land of Valor peaked at Top 5 in the iOS Top Grossing Chart, driving the company’s H1 revenue and net profit to increase by over 57% and 115% year-on-year, respectively.

Diversified Growth Paths: Combining Products, Operations, and Capital Strategies

Beyond hit-driven growth, more companies enhanced their value through diversified strategies:

G-bits benefited from the excellent revenue performance of multiple new games including Staff & Sword Saga (domestic and overseas versions), Ask Sword Longevity, and the mini-game Fellow Taoist, Come Dig for Treasure, leading to a 129% year-on-year increase in Q3 revenue and a tripling of net profit.

Glacier Network achieved “cost reduction and efficiency enhancement” by optimizing its user acquisition strategy, with H1 sales expenses plummeting 56.42% year-on-year, driving a 165.19% year-on-year increase in net profit.

Perfect World saw steady growth in its gaming business, with new products like Zhu Xian World and the overseas version of Persona: Phantom of the Night contributing incremental revenue, helping the company return to profitability overall in H1.

37 Interactive Entertainment saw its market value peak at over 52 billion RMB in September, driven by improved performance expectations in the second half of the year.

Star Interactive Entertainment gained significant financial returns and market value appreciation through two major capital transactions: player transfers at its controlled Spanish football club RCD Espanyol and the eventual completion of the club’s equity sale (valued at 130 million euros).

Feiyu Technology successfully turned losses into profits thanks to explosive growth in its mini-game business (H1 revenue up 343% year-on-year), doubling its market value.

Challenges and Differentiation: Adaptation is Key to Progress

Amid the overall positive trend, differentiation within the industry persisted. Approximately 25 companies still experienced a decline in market value, with some facing challenges such as product pipeline gaps or new product performance falling short of expectations. For example, CMGE reported a loss in H1 due to significant promotional investment in Chinese Paladin: World post-launch not meeting expected returns, although its active efforts in overseas publishing (e.g., Minotaur GO) and mini-games (Spring and Autumn Mysterious) are beginning to show results. Dreamatrix returned to profitability through cost control, but the year-on-year decline in game revenue remains an issue to be addressed.

Conclusion

The Chinese gaming market in 2025 displayed a clear development pattern: industry leaders setting the pace, innovation-driven growth, deepening global expansion, and operational efficiency improvements. Giants represented by Tencent and NetEase maintained solid foundations, while a group of companies exemplified by Century Games and Giant Network achieved a revaluation through precise product breakthroughs. Simultaneously, the mini-game sector, overseas market expansion, refined operations, and strategic capital activities collectively formed diversified growth engines for the industry. Looking ahead, sustained product innovation capability, global market competitiveness, and operational agility to adapt to the rapidly changing market environment will be the key for gaming companies to build long-term value.