Conference told of booming game businesses

China's game industry revenue jumped 20 percent year on year in the first half, with booming exports, industry officials told a conference in Shanghai on Wednesday. 

Shanghai, which is hosting ChinaJoy, Asia’s biggest game fair, from Thursday, announced various methods to support Chinese game firms expand overseas. 

In the first half, China’s game revenue reached 140 billion yuan (US$20 billion) with exports totaling US$7.59 billion, a 36 percent growth year on year, according to the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association. 

China’s game industry regained rapid growth during the pandemic, making a major contribution to the digital economy. The export growth rate was a record high in recent years for many small and medium-sized game firms eying overseas markets, Tang Jiajun, vice secretary general of the association, told the International Game Business Conference held in Shanghai. 

Games from Shanghai are among those gaining international recognition. The city government plans to launch more measures to support local firms expand in the overseas market, Wang Yayuan, deputy director of CPC Shanghai Committee, told the conference. 

During the conference, Shanghai launched a project called “Qian Fan” or “Sailing Abroad Initiative” to boost exports with 40 measures in policy support, copyright services, export guarantees, strategy research and trading channels. 

Meanwhile, the National Foreign Cultural Trade Base (Shanghai) North Hongqiao Innovation Center made its debut during the conference. It provides game firms with various services covering exports, intellectual property rights, communication and collaboration and content review. The new center also serves the Yangtze River Delta.

The conference is a prelude to ChinaJoy which will run from Thursday to Monday. It has attracted more than 200 exhibitors, with over 100,000 square meters of exhibition space and 4,000 game and smart devices onsite. 

The event will incorporate the ChinaJoy Toyshow for the first time with toys and game derivatives. ChinaJoy Plus, an online exhibition service, is also available this year.

Ti Gong