adminThe Chinese games market surpassed $50 billion in 2025, reaching $51.8 billion after growing 5.4% year over year. A Niko Partners report forecasts continued expansion, alongside changes in player habits, mobile spending and game development. These figures provide a snapshot of the market’s current scale and the trends expected to influence it through 2030.
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Chinese games market growth and 2030 outlook
Niko Partners projects that the market will grow by 4% in 2026 to $53.9 billion. By 2030, revenue is forecast to reach $59.8 billion, representing a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.9%. These are projections rather than guaranteed outcomes, so readers should view them as a guide to expected market direction.
The report links recent growth to stronger-than-expected results from both newly released titles and established games that continue to attract players. For businesses tracking the sector, this suggests that new launches and long-running games can both contribute to revenue.
Players, playtime and mini-games
China’s player base is projected to reach 769 million by 2030. Average weekly playtime is also expected to rise to 15.8 hours, compared with 14.1 hours last year. Together, these measures point to a large audience with substantial engagement, although they do not indicate how individual players divide their time across platforms or genres.
Mini-games are identified as a major growth area. The report says 80% of Chinese players engage with the genre, which accounts for almost 20% of mobile game spending. These figures highlight why mini-games matter when assessing mobile activity, but spending patterns can differ between players and titles.
Nearly half of players use short-video apps to discover games and related information across platforms. For publishers and developers, this makes discovery channels an important part of understanding how audiences find new releases.
Access, policy and emerging trends
The report says 66% of surveyed players use different methods to bypass China’s internet censorship. Specifically, 30.8% play on global servers, 33.6% use gaming accelerators and 21.9% use VPNs. These are reported survey responses and should not be treated as mutually exclusive categories.
Video games were included in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, covering 2026–2030. Previously, games were categorised as digital cultural products. The report also identifies five trends to watch:
- Growth in niche game genres
- More monetisation outside app stores
- Regulatory improvements
- Higher consumer spending on premium PC and console games
- Greater integration of generative AI
Chinese games companies are increasingly applying generative AI in development workflows and player-facing features. The report also points to growth in user-generated content platforms. At the same time, expanding generative AI infrastructure has increased demand for RAM and semiconductor components. These developments may affect production and technology needs, while the report identifies innovation, regulatory clarity and player engagement as factors supporting long-term growth.
What the outlook means
The Chinese games market is forecast to keep growing, with a rising player base and several evolving areas of activity, from mini-games to AI-supported development. Because the figures for 2026–2030 are projections, they are best used to understand potential direction rather than as certain outcomes. Tracking player engagement, policy changes and spending trends will help readers interpret how the market develops.
