The 22nd China Digtal Entertainment Congress Photo: Courtesy of CDEC

As the 22nd China Digital Entertainment Industry Congress kicked off in Shanghai on Thursday, industry representatives told the Global Times that they are stepping up efforts to expand into overseas markets, while expressing strong confidence in the continued growth and global competitiveness of China's game industry.

The congress was held one day ahead of ChinaJoy, also known as the China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference. This year's ChinaJoy drew 743 exhibitors, including 237 foreign firms from the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, Japan and South Korea.

Hu Xin, director of the public relations of Century Huatong, a Shenzhen-listed internet game company, told the Global Times that the company's overseas business has become a major part of its gaming sector, surpassing its domestic business. 

"For instance, one of our group's subsidiaries - Century Games - generated approximately 17 billion yuan ($2.37 billion) in revenue in the first half year, with 10 billion yuan coming from overseas operations," said Hu.

Mecha BREAK, developed by Chinese company Seasun Games, launched its global test on July 2, which drew attention from global players. Yao Zhe, vice-president of the company, said that the game is seen as a key point of the company's globalization strategy. To promote Mecha BREAK, Seasun Games has formed a team consisting of about 100 employees based in Shanghai, Zhuhai and North America, said Yao. 

The advancing globalization of Chinese games is driving the development of related industries. Xu Jiabo founded Shanghai STARISE Media in 2023, a startup specializing in overseas content promotion across multiple social media platforms for Chinese game companies such as Tencent and Mihoyo. 

Xu, also the CEO of the startup, told the Global Times that both Chinese game developers and the Chinese gaming market hold a pivotal position in the global industry, making cultural confidence crucial for promoting Chinese games internationally. "While some games feature distinct and complex Chinese cultural elements, high-quality game content is still capable of resonating with players worldwide," he said. 

During the congress, a report on the Chinese gaming industry in the first half of 2025 was released. The actual sales revenue of self-developed games in overseas markets reached $9.501 billion, marking a year-on-year increase of 11.07 percent.

Huang Zhuo, senior marketing director of ThunderFire, a game studio owned by Chinese game company NetEase, noted in a speech that China's solid industrial foundation allowed the company to efficiently develop high-quality games. "By leveraging 'hard skills' to spread 'soft power' overseas, even on the basic smartphones in developing countries, games developed in China can run smoothly," he said.

China's first domestically developed AAA game Black Myth: Wukong by Hangzhou-based Game Science, launched on August 20, 2024, has taken the world by storm with its phenomenal popularity. On its release day, Black Myth: Wukong peaked at more than 2 million concurrent players.

Promotional material for Black Myth: Wukong on display at a store in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province on August 24, 2024 Photo: VCG

On July 24, 2025, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, an action game developed by Chengdu-based Leenzee Games set in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), was launched globally, capitalizing on the cultural momentum ignited by last year's release of Black Myth: Wukong. Even before its release, pre-orders had pushed Wuchang: Fallen Feathers to No.1 on Steam's global bestseller list.

In the first half of 2025, China's domestic gaming market made a new record, with actual sales revenue reaching 168 billion yuan, up 14.08 percent year-on-year. The number of game players rose to 679 million nationwide, a 0.72-percent increase, also a new high.

Yao of Seasun Games told the Global Times: "Multiple Chinese games with high quality exemplified China's capability in developing AAA games, boosting confidence among domestic game developers. As more AAA titles are released, Chinese game market expectations will rise," said Yao.