As the western video games industry continues to struggle, the Chinese industry appears to be booming, revealing a worth of more than $50bn in 2025 – more than five times the industry in the UK.
Niko Partners, a video game research company, released a report breaking down the staggering growth of the Chinese video game industry on its website. It found that in 2025, the Chinese market generated around $51.8bn in revenue.
To compare, the British video game market brought in $8.76bn in 2025 according to UKIE, the country’s national video game association and trade body. China’s 2025 performance is an astounding figure, one that marks a continued rise in prominence for the nation’s video game industry.
Niko Partners forecasts that the Chinese market will keep growing, rising 4 percent in 2026 to $53.9bn. Looking further to 2030, the company predicts it’ll reach $59.8bn. The reason for this growth has been driven by stronger-than-expected performance for both new and evergreen games (think live service games like Genshin Impact). An example of this can be seen with Where Winds Meet, a 2025 MMO that quickly surpassed 2 million players globally within a day of its release.
This same report from Niko Partners provided some additional insight into how Chinese gamers were interacting with the medium. It states that 46.5 percent were engaged with esports to some degree, with that figure expected to rise to 51.3 percent in 2026. 80 percent of gamers have played a mini-game, with 20 percent of total spending coming from these mini-games. These are defined as games you don’t have to download: think browser games and the like.
As for important trends that may impact the future of China, Niko Partners believes generative AI’s integration into game development is one factor. Back in 2025, Niko Partners found that 39 percent of Chinese gamers were interested in the gen AI’s integration in games, while 60 percent of studios were already using it in development. This stands in contrast to western audiences, who continue to resist generative AI on artistic integrity, copyright, and general quality lines.
Other factors include growth in niche and underserved genres, increased out-of-app monetisation, and rising consumer spending both domestically and internationally will be key. So too will a “more favourable regulatory environment” for game developers, which Niko Partners believes should allow international game companies to access the Chinese market via platforms like Steam.
For a glimpse at how things are picking up in China from the development side, Gamescom flaunted big-hitters from the country on the show floor. Phantom Blade Zero, A Whisper of Fall: Jinyiwei, Sea of Remnants, Showa: American Story and more made an appearance, with over 60 in total having a presence at the show. The country has inarguably come a long way since Black Myth: Wukong made an astounding impact back in 2024.
