ChinaJoy to feature record international participation

ChinaJoy 2025, Asia's premier digital entertainment expo, is poised for a "globalization upgrade" in Shanghai in August, with record international participation. Organizers announced on Tuesday that 237 overseas companies, representing nearly a third of the total exhibitors, will be attending, underscoring the fair's enhanced international focus.

Set to run from August 1 to 4 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, ChinaJoy — formally known as the China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference — will feature national-level game and eSports conferences, live shows and extensive gaming exhibitions. A total of 743 companies have registered, with enterprises hailing from 37 countries and regions, including the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, Japan and South Korea.

The specialized Business-to-Business (B2B) Negotiation Zone, spanning 25,000 square meters, will host over 460 exhibitors, with foreign companies comprising 45.2 percent. This strong international presence highlights the fair's emphasis on global business cooperation, according to organizers including China's top industry regulators and the Shanghai government.

A new addition this year is the inaugural China International Game Developers Conference (CIGDC). Supported by industry bodies from Japan, South Korea, the UK, France, and Finland, it will host approximately a dozen activities during ChinaJoy, including Sino-foreign exchange sessions and one-on-one business matchmaking, bringing together nearly a hundred overseas companies to explore industry trends and challenges. Other trending topics at ChinaJoy will encompass eSports, cross-cultural exchange and the overseas expansion of the mini-game industry.

A global eSports hub

As Shanghai continues its ambition to become a global eSports and culture hub, the city's gaming industry demonstrated robust growth in 2024, with sales revenue reaching 155.8 billion yuan (US$21.5 billion), a 7.8-percent year-on-year increase and over two percentage points higher than GDP growth. This momentum carried into the first quarter of 2025, with city officials reporting "double-digit growth" in Shanghai's cultural and digital information industry, largely fueled by the booming online game sector.

To further bolster this momentum, officials announced a series of new policy initiatives to support the "digital publishing and innovation sector" will be released during ChinaJoy. Plans include establishing a special industry fund for the gaming industry, setting up a research and service center for game firms expanding overseas and introducing additional game majors in Shanghai universities.

Finally, ChinaJoy 2025 will debut several new zones dedicated to AIGC (AI-generated content) and robotics, showcasing the increasing integration between artificial intelligence and gaming.

Ticket sales will begin next Wednesday, with daily prices at 180 yuan on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and 110 yuan on Monday.