China's growth is going to Chinese-made games
When people say the games industry is growing, much of that growth is in China, and most of it goes to Chinese-made games. What matters is the gap between where spending is growing and where Western publishers can actually make money.
Latest figure · 2026 so far
86.7%
First half of 2026: self-developed games earned 163.4 billion yuan of a 188.5 billion yuan market, up 16.31% against 12.17%. The figures are from the GPC's January to June report, read in China News Service's account.
GPC, China Game Industry Report for January to June 2026, via China News Service (30 July 2026)
Where it stands
The games industry earned about $10 billion more in 2025 than in 2021. According to analyst Matthew Ball's analysis, made when he was an outside analyst, before he became Xbox's chief strategy officer in May 2026, about $4 billion of that came from China, and another $1.5 billion from Chinese-made games sold abroad. Inside China, Chinese-made games take about 83% of revenue by the official industry report's 2025 count. Niko Partners puts China's 2025 game revenue at $51.8 billion, over $50 billion for the first time, and expects $53.9 billion in 2026.
Chinese-made games have taken between 80% and 87% of China's game revenue every year since 2020. The dip to 80% in 2024 came as competition and costs rose at home, and the share was back to 83% in 2025. The 2026 figure is for the first half.
~Derived, not stated: the 2021 report gives both 2021 figures and their increases on 2020, which puts 2020 at 240.2 billion yuan of self-developed revenue in a 287.1 billion yuan market, 83.7%.
~Derived, not stated: the 2024 report's growth rates put 2023 at about 256.4 billion yuan of self-developed revenue in a 303.0 billion yuan market. The 2023 annual page was not found on the GPC site.
*First half of 2026: self-developed games earned 163.4 billion yuan of a 188.5 billion yuan market, up 16.31% against 12.17%. The figures are from the GPC's January to June report, read in China News Service's account.
SourceGPC, 2021 China Game Industry Report (16 December 2021), derived from its stated increases
| Year | Share of China's game revenue earned by Chinese-made games, by year |
|---|---|
| 2020 | ~83.7% |
| 2021 | 86.3% |
| 2022 | 83.6% |
| 2023 | ~84.6% |
| 2024 | 80.0% |
| 2025 | 83.0% |
| 2026* | 86.7% |
Timeline
2021
Chinese-made games take 86% of the home market
The GPC's 2021 report had Chinese-made games taking 86% of the home market, 255.8 of 296.5 billion yuan.
2024
The home market gets crowded for Chinese studios too
Self-developed games' home revenue grew only 1.70% in 2024 while the market grew 7.53%, and the share fell to 80%. The GPC blamed intensified competition and rising development and customer acquisition costs.
2025
Chinese companies earn half of what the ten largest make
Joost van Dreunen finds that Chinese firms took 52% of the ten largest game publishers' revenue in 2025, up from 8% in 2010. Tencent alone took 19% of all publishing revenue.
Chinese developers earn more than half their App Store money abroad
In a study Apple published on 8 October 2026, Chinese developers' share of App Store revenue earned outside China rises from 32% in 2020 to 52% in 2025, with 76% of Chinese developers active in overseas markets and 3.8 billion overseas downloads of their apps in the year. Apple commissioned the study, which was written by Ju Heng of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and Markus von Wartburg of Analysis Group, and it covers all apps rather than games alone.
2026
Ball: half the industry's growth went where the West cannot reach
Matthew Ball's analysis, in Christopher Dring's interview: of the roughly $10 billion the industry grew between 2021 and 2025, about $4 billion was in China and another $1.5 billion went to Chinese-made games abroad, in places a lot of Western developers and publishers cannot access.
Xbox hires Matthew Ball as chief strategy officer
Xbox names the analyst Matthew Ball, whose February 2026 interview this page draws on, as its chief strategy officer on 20 May 2026. He was an outside analyst when he gave it. From this point his public comments are an Xbox executive's.
The share climbs to 87%
In the first half of 2026 Chinese-made games' home revenue grew 16.31% against the market's 12.17%, taking the share to 87%.
GPC, China Game Industry Report for January to June 2026, via China News Service (30 July 2026)
China passes $50 billion
Niko Partners put China's 2025 games revenue at $51.8 billion, up 5.4% and above $50 billion for the first time, with annual ARPU past $70, and forecast $53.9 billion for 2026 and $59.8 billion by 2030.
Consequences
012026
Growth that Western publishers cannot reach
Matthew Ball, then an outside analyst and since May 2026 an Xbox executive, argued that the growth is happening where many Western developers and publishers cannot get in, and that the money does not seem to be reaching developers, publishers, or new games.
022025
A market that makes money in ways the West does not
Chinese players spend differently. In 2025, the average player spent more than $70, 80% of players had tried mini games, and mini games made up nearly 20% of mobile spending.
Objections
Counterpoint2026
The market the West cannot reach is barely growing
China is also the slowest-growing of the big games markets. Niko forecasts just 2.9% growth a year through 2030, which makes 2025's 5.4% a strong year.
Counterpoint2025
A sixth of China is still a big market
Games not made in China earn about a sixth of China's 350 billion yuan market. That is still about 60 billion yuan, or roughly $8 billion, which is bigger than most countries Western publishers already sell in.
What to watch
2026
Whether the share holds at 87%
China's official year-end games industry report, due in December. The number to look for is the share of the home market held by Chinese-made games. It was 87% in the first half, and holding that for the full year would be the highest on record.
GPC, China Game Industry Report for January to June 2026, via China News Service (30 July 2026)
2027
Niko's 2026 tally against $53.9 billion
Whether China's 2026 revenue hits Niko's $53.9 billion forecast, and whether spending per player keeps rising even though the number of players grew less than 1%.
Further reading
- AnalysisThe state of video games with Matthew Ball, Part Onethegamebusiness.com
- DataChinese gaming market surpasses $50 billionnikopartners.com
Where to follow it The Game Business (Dring), Matthew Ball / Epyllion, Niko Partners, Newzoo regional reports
- Games companies are still cutting jobs
- Rich markets are losing players, and growth has moved elsewhere
- Publishers are retreating from live-service games
- Investors are pulling money out of studios
- Mobile games are struggling to find new players
- AI data centers are taking the memory games hardware needs
- Game prices are stalling as hardware prices climb
- Games media is consolidating and shrinking