On the 30th, the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association (CADPA) released its H1 2026 China Gaming Industry Report at the China International Digital Entertainment Industry Conference.

Zhang Yijun, Chair of the Game Publishing Committee, who presented the report, emphasized that the Chinese gaming industry saw significant growth in the first half of the year, with PC games and overseas expansion being particularly notable. He added that various regions in China are continuing to implement gaming support policies, adopting more granular and practical measures. He also explained that AI technology is being integrated across the industry, reshaping development processes by reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Furthermore, he noted that the gaming ecosystem is being optimized, with startup incubation and talent development programs now on track, fostering effective industry-academia-research collaboration.

As a result, actual revenue in the Chinese domestic gaming market for H1 2026 reached CN¥188.45 billion (approx. ₩39.763 trillion), a 12.17% increase year-on-year. The market achieved double-digit growth, driven by a solid mobile foundation, the growth of PC games, and an increase in cross-platform titles. Domestic revenue from Chinese-developed games reached CN¥163.356 billion (approx. ₩34.468 trillion), up 16.31% year-on-year. The user base also grew, reaching 684 million as of June, a 0.82% increase compared to the same period last year.

Revenue from Chinese games in overseas markets reached $12.372 billion (approx. ₩17.691 trillion), a 30.22% increase year-on-year, driven by the stable performance of long-running hits and the success of new releases. In the mobile sector, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea remained key target markets, accounting for 32.31%, 14.05%, and 7.48% of overseas revenue respectively, totaling 53.84%. Additionally, Germany, the U.K., and France saw a slight increase to a combined 10.14%, indicating the growing importance of the European market.

Among Chinese games topping the overseas mobile market, the strategy genre remained the most popular at 46.91%, showing a slight increase compared to the same period last year. Merge games followed at 16.22%, up 9.74% year-on-year. RPGs and shooters maintained stability at 9.62% and 8.31%, respectively, similar to the previous year.

In H1 2026, the revenue share by platform in the Chinese domestic market was 71.75% for mobile, 24.03% for PC, and 1.07% for web games. Mobile game revenue reached CN¥135.21 billion (approx. ₩28.529 trillion), a 7.9% increase year-on-year, supported by stable performance from long-running hits and the launch of numerous new titles. Among the top 100 mobile games by genre, shooters took the lead at 26.23%, overtaking MOBA. MOBA ranked second at 18.96%, and RPGs placed third at 14.35%.

However, the subculture mobile game market saw revenue decline by 8.97% year-on-year to CN¥13.269 billion (approx. ₩2.8 trillion). This decline was attributed to falling revenue for some long-serviced titles, which major new releases failed to offset. In contrast, casual games grew 10.74% year-on-year to CN¥18.205 billion (approx. ₩3.841 trillion), and minigame revenue surged 36.01% to CN¥31.657 billion (approx. ₩6.68 trillion).

The Chinese PC game market recorded CN¥45.288 billion (approx. ₩9.556 trillion) in revenue, a 27.92% increase year-on-year, driven by cross-platform support and the strong performance of several long-standing popular PC titles. Conversely, the web game market continued its downward trend, with revenue falling 8.47% year-on-year to CN¥2.016 billion (approx. ₩425.4 billion).

Meanwhile, the console game market saw revenue decline by 7.06% year-on-year to CN¥961 million (approx. ₩202.8 billion). This was attributed to the fading momentum of the 2024 blockbuster 'Black Myth: Wukong' and the lack of new follow-up titles to sustain that growth.

The esports game market recorded CN¥89.616 billion (approx. ₩18.909 trillion) in revenue for H1 2026, a 11.12% increase year-on-year. This was driven by the continued success of top-tier long-running esports titles like 'Honor of Kings' and the successive release of new esports games.

Additionally, a 'Board game' category was newly added starting with this H1 2026 report. Chair Zhang Yijun stated

"The board game market has shown continuous growth over the past few years. It has become an indispensable component of the gaming industry, and with the association's approval, we have decided to include relevant data starting from the 2026 Gaming Industry Report."

China's board game market revenue in H1 2026 reached CN¥3.868 billion (approx. ₩816.1 billion), a 4.03% increase year-on-year. Digital board games accounted for CN¥1.997 billion (approx. ₩421.4 billion), or 51.60% of total revenue, while physical offline board games accounted for CN¥1.87 billion (approx. ₩394.6 billion), or 48.40%.

Chair Zhang Yijun concluded, "In the first half of 2026, our gaming industry achieved clear growth in both domestic and international markets. This is primarily due to the positive flow of policy measures, the continuous optimization of the ecosystem, and the ongoing infusion of new momentum through technological innovation and cultural creativity." Regarding the outlook for the second half of the year, he predicted, "The upward trend will continue as various new titles that have captured the attention of the industry and users are scheduled for release."