Chinese game companies are accelerating their global expansion.

In recent years, the "new three" of Chinese culture, represented by online literature, online movies and TV shows, and online games, have rapidly emerged and gained popularity in overseas markets. Among them, the overseas expansion of games has become a new engine driving the growth of China's service trade. In the first half of 2025, the actual sales revenue of Chinese self-developed games in overseas markets reached $9.501 billion, a year-on-year increase of 11.07%. Against the backdrop of the slowdown in global economic growth, China's digital trade represented by the game industry is injecting new vitality into the global economy.

Hardcore technology builds the "keel"

The top-notch graphic technology strength and artistic expressiveness demonstrated by the first domestic 3A game "Black Myth: Wukong" are amazing; "Yanyun Sixteen Sounds" accurately presents elements such as Dougong and carvings of ancient buildings through nanoscale detail rendering technology, and the real-game demonstration video of the game has been viewed more than 50 million times on overseas platforms; during the public beta of "Persona 5: The Phantom X" (P5X), it ranked first on the free iOS game list in 35 countries and regions... What enables domestic games to "attract fans" among overseas players?

Zheng Nan, the deputy secretary-general of the Game Work Committee of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, said that the fundamental driving force for the continuous growth of the revenue of Chinese self-developed games in overseas markets is the "high-quality R & D system" formed by the industry in R & D, operation, and commercialization. In terms of internal driving force, after years of accumulation, Chinese game companies have reached a relatively high global level in engine technology, artistic expression, and gameplay design, and are capable of producing mobile games and cross-platform games of 3A quality; the in-depth understanding of the F2P (free-to-play) model and the ability of refined operation are the core advantages of Chinese manufacturers compared with many overseas counterparts. From the perspective of the external environment, the global mobile game market continues to expand, providing a broad market foundation for high-quality products. From cloud services, payment to marketing platforms, China has formed a set of efficient infrastructure to support overseas expansion.

The large-scale application of artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC) has become an accelerator for the overseas expansion of games, driving the industry towards "experience innovation". The AI facial expression interaction system of "Backwater Cold" can generate NPC actions in real-time in response to players' conversations, greatly enhancing the sense of immersion in cross-cultural scenarios. Technological breakthroughs have enabled Chinese games to be competitive in the global high-end market.

Tang Junhua, the director of the general technology game industry solution of Baidu Smart Cloud, said that on the R & D side, the game creation method combining the traditional model with AI shortens the generation time of artistic resources by more than 80%, accelerates the generation of 3D models and animations by 5 to 10 times, and the AI programming assistant can improve development efficiency by 30% to 50%; on the marketing and operation side, AI generates advertising materials, analyzes user data, and optimizes placements, reducing customer acquisition costs by 20% to 40%.

A relevant person in charge of Perfect World said that in terms of production efficiency, AIGC technology is reconstructing the content production pipeline and improving the efficiency of content iteration. The mature applications precipitated in the game industry will also empower social scenarios. Digital and intelligent technologies such as AI generation technology, engines, and virtual simulation are expected to become the underlying tools for building virtual worlds, and empower various industries in the form of AI + games + all industries.

Wang Xu, the co-founder and chief analyst of Gamma Data, believes that Chinese game companies have global competitiveness in technologies such as AIGC, engine development, cloud games, and cross-platform, which can support high-quality and high-efficiency global synchronous R & D and operation. From planning, art, programming to operation, Chinese game companies have formed a standardized overseas expansion pipeline, which can quickly respond to global market demands.

Cultural core hoists the "sail"

Today, the interpretation of the game industry is not limited to the level of "telling stories". The integration of traditional cultural IPs and games spreads Chinese culture to global players and injects a new cultural core into the high-quality development of the game industry.

In the game "Black Myth: Wukong", some nouns are translated into pinyin in overseas versions. For example, "Wukong" is not translated as "Monkey King" but as "Wukong". On overseas game forums, many players study "Journey to the West" while playing the game. They discuss the Heavenly Court, the Dragon Palace, and monsters on social media, showing great interest and enthusiasm for traditional Chinese culture.

In the game "Genshin Impact", the "Lantern Rite" inspired by the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival appears. Every Spring Festival, the game updates the plot or gameplay integrating traditional Chinese folk customs. Activities such as setting off fireworks, enjoying lanterns, and guessing riddles have all appeared in the "Lantern Rite", and this festival has become an eagerly awaited "grand event" for global players every year. In "Zhu Xian World", traditional crafts such as the intangible cultural heritage velvet flower making technique in Jiangsu Province have regained new vitality in the digital world.

When Chinese mythology and Eastern aesthetics touch global players, games are no longer just a form of entertainment but also a carrier of cultural dialogue. Experts say that good game products usually adopt the strategy of "core leadership, universal shell". First, ensure that the core gameplay of the game (such as open-world exploration and character cultivation) can be understood and loved by global players. On this basis, use cultural elements as "value-added content" to enhance the experience. For example, naturally integrate Chinese architectural aesthetics and traditional festivals into the game world.

Currently, the overseas expansion of domestic games has been upgraded from "product output" to "cultural empowerment" and "system output". "Now, overseas expansion has become the core strategy of large game companies. They carry competitive intellectual property rights and works, actively participate in global competition, and begin to try to combine Eastern cultural elements with game experiences to achieve the output of cultural soft power." Zheng Nan said.

Policy tailwind blows the "horn"

Behind the overseas expansion of Chinese games is the policy support from relevant departments for the game industry. "The state and local governments have introduced a series of support policies to provide institutional guarantees for enterprises' overseas expansion, promoting the overseas expansion of games from 'spontaneous exploration' to'systematic layout'." Wang Xu said.

In April 2025, a relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce pointed out at a press conference of the State Council Information Office when introducing the "Work Plan for Accelerating the Comprehensive Pilot Program of Expanding the Opening-up of the Service Industry" that the game overseas expansion business should be developed, and the entire industrial chain from IP creation to game production, distribution, and overseas operation should be laid out. Soon after, four departments including the Ministry of Commerce jointly released the list of key national cultural export enterprises and key projects for 2025 - 2026. 98 game-related enterprises such as Tencent, NetEase, miHoYo, and Hypergryph, and 15 game products such as "Genshin Impact", "Arknights", and "NARAKA: BLADEPOINT" were included.

At the local level, Guangdong, Beijing and other places have intensively introduced special policies to accelerate the overseas expansion of games. In May 2025, Guangdong Province, which accounts for nearly 80% of the Chinese game market, issued the "Several Policy Measures to Promote the High - quality Development of the Online Game Industry in Guangdong", proposing to "build an overseas expansion industrial cluster". The policy clearly states that game enterprises should be guided and supported to drive more small, medium and micro enterprises to expand overseas, and to build an "overseas expansion matrix of Guangdong-made games" and a "game enterprise overseas expansion alliance"; support localities to integrate upstream and downstream industrial chain resources such as creative design, e-sports hardware, game equipment, and IP operation to expand overseas collaboratively.

The "Interim Support Measures for Promoting the High - quality Development of the Game and E - sports Industry in Beijing" jointly issued by 12 departments including the Publicity Department of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee pointed out that game and e - sports enterprises in Beijing should be encouraged to explore the international market, support products to play a cultural promotion role overseas, increase operating income, and promote the transformation of competitions.

Some experts said that currently, the game and e - sports industry shows great development potential and wide social influence. It is not only an important part of the digital economy but also a new carrier of cultural communication, technological innovation, and urban vitality.

Forge ahead steadily on the "course"

Where are the explosive growth points for the overseas expansion of Chinese games in the future? Zheng Nan believes that this issue needs to be viewed from multiple dimensions.

From the market perspective, "refined operation" in emerging markets is a definite opportunity. The dividend of simple product transplantation has ended, and the next growth point lies in in - depth customized development and operation based on local culture, social habits, and payment capabilities.

From the category perspective, "category integration and micro - innovation" are the keys. Finding a differentiated entry point in mature categories or exploring niche categories that are not yet saturated overseas is more realistic than chasing completely new categories.

From the technological perspective, AI - driven development is the biggest variable and opportunity. AI technology will completely change game R & D, user experience, and operation. Companies that embrace AI first will establish a huge competitive advantage.

Wang Xu believes that the future growth points include products that can achieve data interconnection among mobile phones, PCs, and consoles (PS5/Xbox), products that can form an ecological closed - loop of "game + competition + community", and products that can achieve new AI - driven interactive experiences, etc.

While the overseas expansion of games is booming, it should also be noted that the supervision on user protection and content review is becoming increasingly strict around the world. Relevant experts believe that this is one of the most severe challenges faced by Chinese games going overseas. It is recommended that enterprises attach importance to it at the strategic level, elevate compliance to the strategic height of the company, set up a special team or hire local law firms and consulting institutions to continuously track global regulatory dynamics; embed compliance review links in the entire life cycle of product planning, R & D, and testing to avoid risks from the source; use third - party compliance platforms or build self - built systems to automatically handle data requests, privacy policy updates, tax declarations and other matters. In addition, cooperation with local distributors and operators can be carried out to deal with local regulatory issues with their experience.

(Source: Economic Daily  Reporter: Wang Junjie, Cheng Qi, Peng Jinmei  Editor - in - charge: Cheng Qi)