Summer gaming festival ChinaJoy opens on Friday in Shanghai
Gamers attended ChinaJoy in 2020. The event will again be held offline this year after the COVID pandemic.
ChinaJoy, a summer festival for gaming fans, will officially open on Friday, with a bunch of events including games, gear, and industry forums with VIP guests.
ChinaJoy, or the China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference, will take place from July 28 to 31 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center in the Pudong New Area.
It will be held offline this year after the COVID pandemic.
According to the latest exhibitor booth map released this week, the exhibitors include game companies, hardware firms, lifestyle apps, mobile carriers, and even new-energy carmakers, which will showcase in-vehicle digital entertainment services on site.
The E4 hall is being taken by Qualcomm.
About 500 exhibitors from 22 countries and regions have confirmed their attendance at the event, including international brands including AMD, Sony PlayStation and Qualcomm.
Qualcomm is taking over the whole E4 hall as a Snapdragon Themed Hall, showcasing its latest mobile game, eSports, and smart device applications. Professional eSports competitions, called SPS China Master, will be held on site, covering popular titles such as "Honor of Kings" and "PUBG Mobile."
Chinese smartphone brands including Xiaomi and OnePlus are also major exhibitors in the hall.
Earlier this month, Sony PlayStation attended Bilibili World 2023 in Shanghai, showing PS games and its virtual reality gadget PlayStation VR2.
Sony PlayStation will introduce a new batch of Chinese developers chosen by the third-phase China Hero Project, which supports domestic game firms to expand globally on its PlayStation platform. Through the project, Sony supports home-grown companies on management, capital, development tools and distribution.
Also this month, Sony PlayStation attended Bilibili World 2023 in Shanghai, showing PS games and its virtual reality gadget PlayStation VR2.
Shanghai-based firms, including miHoYo and Giant, will also showcase their latest titles at ChinaJoy, including some global debuts.
Shanghai-listed Giant will release "Road of Conquering" in its global debut, targeting the domestic market and exploring overseas opportunities in the Western market.
A game screenshot of "Road of Conquering," developed by Giant, which will make its global debut at ChinaJoy.
Several ChinaJoy industry forums will also be held this week.
The China Digital Entertainment Congress (CDEC) will open on Thursday, with speakers from Tencent, NetEase, Microsoft, and Sony PlayStation. They will talk about new trends such as artificial intelligence, intercultural protection, and integration between games and culture and entertainment industries.
Meanwhile, representatives of gaming market leaders including NetEase, Perfect World and Riot Games will give speeches at the 2023 Global eSports Conference on Friday. The speakers include NetEase chief executive Ding Lei and senior officials of Tencent and China Mobile's Migu.
ChinaJoy has a total exhibition space of over 120,000 square meters. The ticket price is from 110 to 180 yuan (US$15 to 25) for single day access and a VIP four-day ticket for 980 yuan. All tickets are only available online.
The show is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The event has been a cultural brand of Shanghai for two decades and fits perfectly with the city's growth strategy to become a worldwide eSports powerhouse, city officials said.
