The overall performance summary of China's game industry in H1 2021

1. The official launched National Identity Verification Platform and the improvement of the Game Industry-standard System had helped the continued protection of the youngsters.
2. With the successive introduction and implementation of various local industry support policies, the development of high-quality game products has been expanded. The game industry once again ushered in new policy opportunities.
3. With constant changes in consumer demand, new growth opportunities in the game industry would continue to emerge.
4. Companies in the gaming industry are upgrading their strategic plans, relying on independent research and development, and would continue to invest in technology applications, IP operations, and so on.
5. The ability of independent original game products innovation was generally enhanced, game categories will be diversified, and high-quality games will focus on long-term development.
6. Game developers continue to promote global distribution strategies and diversify through refined operations and localised marketing.
7. Game companies are focusing more on domestic cultural and social image and awareness of compliance with laws and regulations. They are willing to take more social responsibilities.

Market statistics

In H1 2021, the domestic game market's sales revenue was 150.493 billion yuan from January to June 2021,  a year-on-year increase of 7.89%, and will continue to maintain a relatively stable growth rate.

Source: Game Committee of China Music and Digital Association、China Game Industry Research Institute、Foresight Industry Research Institute

• The number of users increased by 1.38% year-on-year to 667 million, and the rate of growth has slowed down. With changes in the demographic structure, it is expected that competition in China's game market will become more intense in the future, as will the requirements for enterprises and products.

• From January to June 2021, the actual domestic sales revenue of China's independent online games is 130.112 billion yuan, an increase of 8.3% year on year, and it will continue to maintain more than 80% of China's domestic market.

• In terms of distribution by country, the United States, Japan, and South Korea are still the main markets combined, accounting for 59.51% of the total overseas market revenue.

• Strategy game accounts for 41.47 % of the distribution of independent mobile games going overseas, shooting accounts for 13.58%, and role-playing accounts for 12.25%, for a total of 67.3%.

• In H1 2021 the sales revenue of domestic developed mobile games accounted for 76.26% of total market revenue in China, 19.86% for desktop games, and 2.01% for web games. Mobile games continue to dominate the domestic game market and are the primary source of revenue.  desktop game sales revenue increased slightly, but the proportion remained on the decline. Web game revenue has continued to fall, and its market has been shrinking.

• The number of web games launched has continued to fall, and the actual market sales revenue was 3.021 billion yuan, a 24.51% decrease year-on-year. Web games are becoming less popular in the mainstream market. Without new positive blessings, it will be difficult to reverse its downward trend.

• The console game market has been on the rise in recent years. The global launch of new consoles in the first half of 2021 has given new impetus to the console game market's revitalization. As a result, this report incorporates console game market information into separate statistics for the second time. In H1 2021, sales revenue of the console game market reached  890 million yuan, a 22.54% increase year on year.

• Casual games have a larger market potential because they are better adapted to today's fragmented pace of life. Domestic mobile casual game market revenue was 16.951 billion yuan in the first half of the year, with direct revenue of 3.976 billion yuan and the indirect revenue of 12.975 billion yuan from advertising and other activities.  Overall revenue increased by 8.57% year-on-year.

• The actual sales revenue of the domestic e-sports market reached 72.61 billion yuan from January to June 2021, an increase of 0.17 % year on year, and the same year on year growth, with a slight increase. There are 489 million e-sports users, a 1.13 % increase year-on-year, and the growth rate is also slowing. The main reason is a lack of new heavyweight e-sports products entering the market, and the market is currently relying on stock to maintain the status quo. The market environment is improving, and the impact of competition is expanding, as a result of the successful promulgation of supportive policies in various regions in China, and the e-sports market still has a relatively large potential for growth.