China is the largest gaming market in the world in terms of revenue. Analysts from Atomik Research, commissioned by the platform Rokky, attempted to determine the level of interest in China from the West.
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As part of the study, Atomik Research surveyed 150 developers each from the USA and the UK, who are involved in console and PC games.
- The surveyed developers ranked China third as the most prioritized region for their next game, following North America and Western Europe.
- 80% of respondents told analysts that they plan to release in China within the next two years. For many, this won't be their first experience — at least 49.5% have released console or PC games there in the last five years.
- 70% of developers cited an increase in sales as a clear advantage of entering the Chinese gaming market. Additionally, 67% consider the ability to reach an audience with a high willingness to spend as an advantage, while 37% see the opportunity to extend the commercial life cycle of their old games.
- The main barriers to releasing in China include potential issues with forming partnerships (43%), strict market regulations (43%), high localization costs (40%), as well as fear of IP theft and piracy (38%).
- 11% of developers do not know how the game release licensing system in China works.
- 45% of developers are convinced that finding a local partner is essential for releasing a PC game in China. Almost the same amount (42%) believe that such a partner is desirable but not strictly necessary.
- Interestingly, a quarter of the respondents named Google Ads as the most important tool for advertising in China, even though this service is blocked there.
Recently, we published an hour-long interview with Ksenija Zubareva, CEO of Asia Game Buzz, where we discussed the specifics of releasing and promoting games in the Chinese market. You can watch it on YouTube.