China’s gaming industry continued explosive growth in 2020, driven by a growing user base and a surge in consumer spending. With millions of people turning to video games as their main at-home entertainment amid the coronavirus outbreak, China is set to overtake the United States’ leading position and become the largest gaming industry globally.
According to data presented by Safe Betting Sites, China’s gaming industry is expected to generate $40.8bn in revenue in 2020, $4bn more than the United States.
China’s Gaming Revenues Grow 11% YoY
In 2019, the global gaming industry hit over $152bn value, growing by a CARG of 9.6%, revealed the Newzoo 2019 Global Games Market Report. With $36.9bn in revenue or 25% of that value, the United States ranked as the leading gaming industry last year. Chinese market followed with $36.5bn in gaming revenues.
However, statistics show the COVID-19 outbreak triggered a significant growth of the gaming industry in China, with revenues rising by 11% year-over-year and leaving the United States market behind.
The Newzoo data indicate the US gaming industry is expected to reach $36.9bn in revenue in 2020, the same as a year ago.
Japan’s gaming market is forecast to hit $18.6bn in revenue this year and rank as the third-largest gaming industry globally. South Korea and Germany round the top five list, with $6.5bn and $5.9bn in gaming revenues, respectively.
Besides significant revenue increase, the Chinese market is also expected to witness steady growth in the number of people playing video games. In 2019, the number of gamers in the country hit over 1 billion for the first time, revealed the Statista Key Market Indicators data. Statistics indicate this figure is forecast to jump by 121 million reaching 1.14bn by the end of 2020.
Mobile games represent the leading segment of the Chinese gaming industry, with 523.5 million users in 2020, a 16% jump in a year, revealed Statista data. Online games and download games follow with 345.4 million and 264.7 million users, respectively.
Mobile Games Generate 75% of the Gaming Revenues in China
With 874,5 thousand smartphone users or over 60% of its entire population, China represents the leading market globally, which explains why mobile games are increasingly important in the country’s gaming industry.
The Game Committee of the Publishers Association of China H1 2020 Report showed mobile games generated $15.5bn or 75% of the total sales revenue in China’s gaming industry between January and June.
Client network games ranked second with a 20% market share. Browser games, console, and PC games followed with 2.8% and 1.9% share, respectively.
The report also showed the Chinese mobile gaming industry increased by 35.8% during the first half of the year, compared to 21.6% annual growth in 2019.
