[Exclusive] Meridian Play: China Gaming Industry in 2025
$50B+ market with a solid growth numbers. Not mentioning that Chinese developers earned $20B+ outside of China.
This is a summary of a report on the Chinese gaming market presented at a conference in Shanghai in December 2025. Data prepared by CADPA, translated and presented in collaboration with my dear friends at Meridian Play.
Domestic Market
China’s domestic gaming market generated 350.789 billion yuan (~$50.1 billion) in actual revenue in 2025, up 7.68% from 2024. The market continues its recovery after the 2022 slump (-10.33%), with the growth rate actually accelerating compared to 2024.
Mobile games still dominate the Chinese market, accounting for 73.29% of total revenue.
Client-based games (PC) reached a 22.28% market share. Browser games continue to decline, falling to just 1.23% (WeChat not included; this segment is growing massively).
Top genres in China by revenue: MOBA (19.5%), shooters (18.3%), and RPG (15.1%).
The console market in China is small but growing fast: in 2025, it reached $1.18 million (+86.33% YoY). Active growth started in 2023. \
❗️This figure includes console hardware sales, whereas most other reports focus solely on software revenue.
In 2026, growth is expected in the mini-games segment, along with a continued trend toward multiplatform releases.
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Chinese Games on International Markets
Revenue from Chinese games abroad reached $20.455 billion in 2025 (+10.23% YoY). Two consecutive years of double-digit growth.
Top 5 overseas markets: USA (32.31%), Japan (16.35%), South Korea (9.15%), Germany (3.84%), UK (2.92%).
Chinese games grew their presence in the US, South Korea, Germany, and UK markets in 2025. Japan, however, saw a slight decline in share relative to other countries.
Among the top 100 mobile games by overseas revenue, nearly half (49.97%) are strategy and SLG titles. Shooters come in second (9.69%), followed by RPGs (9.39%).
