The Chinese gaming market is gradually recovering from the post-pandemic decline, report Meridian Play and GameDev Reports. Experts came to this conclusion after studying data from the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association (CADPA).
Genshin Impact
According to CADPA estimates, last year, residents of China spent 350.8 billion yuan on games, or roughly 50.1 billion dollars — if counted in dollars, expenses rose by 7.68% compared to 2024. Spending in the console segment, in particular, skyrocketed by 86.33% to 1.18 million dollars. However, it should be noted that the statistics include expenditures not only on console games but also on the consoles themselves, which slightly skews the data.
In any case, the overwhelming majority of Chinese gamers' spending traditionally went to mobile games, which accounted for 73.29%. PC games ranked second with a 22.28% share.
Abroad, spending on games from Chinese developers was also strong. According to the report, in 2025, the revenue from Chinese games outside the country reached 20.45 billion dollars, which is 10.23% higher than in 2024. The main markets were the USA (32.31%), Japan (16.35%), South Korea (9.15%), Germany (3.84%), and the United Kingdom (2.92%). Notably, while revenue increased in the USA, there was a slight decline in Japan.
The most profitable Chinese games were not named by the experts. However, they shared statistics on mobile genres. According to them, nearly half (49.97%) of the top 100 mobile games by overseas revenue consist of strategy games, including titles in the SLG (simulated life game) category, followed by shooters (9.69%), RPGs (9.39%), and merge games (8.18%).