Chinese games expand presence: report

China's self- developed games raked in more than $ 18 billion in sales overseas in 2021, up about 16.6 percent year on year, with markets including the US, Japan and South Korea contributing over 58 percent of sales, said a report released by GameLook, a gaming industrial research institute.

Their revenues in the US, Japan and South America, also the three traditional giants of the gaming industry, had shown a gradually decreasing tendency in the past three years, while countries and regions such as Chile and Egypt have become China's major game export destinations.

The phenomenon suggests that China's gaming industry is constantly exploring emerging markets to expand the breadth and depth of its overseas markets, according to the report. In the face of diversified overseas demands, Chinese game enterprises no longer just focus on developing medium- heavy strategy games, but look for more possibilities to increase their market share.

King of Avalon, a fantasythemed game, is the first Chinese- developed game to rank first place in revenue on Apple's App Store. Since its global launch in 2016, it has won the hearts of about 90 million players. Notably, the game has remained among the top 20 bestsellers of countries along the Belt and Road.

The game is going global with more and more elements adapted from traditional Chinese culture. It once launched a character Mulan, an ancient Chinese heroine in legends, which has drawn much international attention. It plans to roll out more relevant products based on China's intangible cultural heritage in the future.

“With more than 2 billion people around the world using games as their main entertainment form, games will also be globalized, and arts and cultures of every country will be revitalized via games,” said Ao Ran, executive vice president and secretary general of the China Audio- video and Digital Publishing Association.