Game on: From opera to anime

Zack Zhang, a 31-year-old YouTuber from Taiwan with around 280,000 subscribers, had what he described as a "happy, novel and spectacular" first trip to the Chinese mainland. His destination was Bilibili World 2025, one of Asia's largest gatherings for fans of ACGN — animation, comics, games, and novels — held in Shanghai.

Compared with other ACGN events that Zhang has been to in Taiwan and Tokyo, he told China Daily that he saw BW as one of the best events of its kind worldwide.

"This is my first time at BW and I feel incredibly great here. I saw a lot of global exhibitors, enthusiastic interactions on and off the stage, and 50 to 60 percent of the visitors are in beautifully detailed cosplay. People are friendly and open to chatting happily and share the stories behind their costumes. I love the atmosphere," says Zhang.

Since its launch in Shanghai in 2017, BW has rapidly expanded into one of the leading ACGN events in Asia, offering a blend of exhibitions, performances and hands-on experiences.

This year's edition, held from July 11 to 13, drew about 400,000 visits from participants across over 20 countries and regions, including Japan, South Korea, Russia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. The event featured 167 exhibitors, more than 1,000 creators, over 30,000 cosplayers, and nearly 800 Itasha cars — vehicles decorated with vibrant ACGN-themed artwork.

Zhang's first stop at BW was the gaming section, which played a central role in this year's event. A major highlight was the game Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, which officially launched worldwide on July 24 and drew significant attention at its booth.

Produced by Leenzee Games in Chengdu, Sichuan province, it is a homegrown console game inspired by ancient Shu (Sichuan region) culture and civilization. With an original fictional story, it features various cultural elements of Sichuan province, including the Sanxingdui ruins, Sichuan dialects, snacks, face-changing stunts of Sichuan Opera, and folk culture and tales, according to game director Xia Siyuan.

"Following the success of Black Myth: Wukong, we see the market for Chinese console games expanding. Players are growing in number and interest. We hope this game will help enrich the Chinese console gaming scene," says Xia.

Also present was Nie Shihong, a 26-year-old gamer and popular Bilibili creator with nearly 770,000 followers. He traveled from Taiyuan, Shanxi province just to try the game. He says the game was worth the trip as he was amazed and captivated by the story and the ancient building elements in particular.

"I made some videos on Black Myth: Wukong before, as some of its scenes are based in Taiyuan. This game is set in the background of Sichuan, which we, Chinese users, are familiar with and feel connected to. I'm glad more local games are embracing traditional culture," says Nie.

The charm of Chinese games and culture has not only captivated Chinese players, but also Thomas Rosenthal, vice-president of Asia-Pacific for 505 Games under the Italian video game company Digital Bros Group, the publisher of the game.

Starting in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, Rosenthal saw great potential for introducing culturally rich Chinese games to global audiences. His company is publishing Wuchang internationally.

"Black Myth: Wukong validated the fact that great Chinese games based on Chinese culture are accessible to overseas users. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a high-quality production with a strong cultural identity of Chinese and Sichuan cultures. We hope to help users outside of China understand the local culture, connect Chinese players with global platforms, and bring Chinese content to a wider global audience," says Rosenthal.

During the game's six-year development process, Rosenthal also spoke highly of their valuable experience in building strong partnerships between a foreign publisher and Chinese developers, as well as the "colorful, impressive, energetic, and dynamic "market landscape of China's gaming industry.

"Chinese gamers are experimental and open-minded to trying new things, including international content. China's market size always builds a trend when it moves in a certain direction. There is great energy, and everything is happening here," he adds.

In addition to games, Bilibili World also brought together a large number of notable creators from other ACGN sectors. Xia Lei, a 47-year-old veteran voice actor, was busy during the event meeting fans and celebrating the 10th birthday of his Voice Bear Group. Having worked in voice acting for 25 years and being an ACGN enthusiast since childhood, Xia Lei reflected on the industry's rapid transformation.

"China's ACGN industry is growing unexpectedly fast, such as the development of IPs and the expanding fan base. We are also seeing much younger voice actors and fans of radio drama, animation and games. Currently, over one-third of voice actors at our group are those born after 2000, from whom we see much passion and the future of the industry," says Xia Lei.

Seseren, a 34-year-old illustrator from South Korea, set up a booth at BW, meeting fans and selling IP goods made from his illustrated works in Chinese games. He has thousands of Chinese fans on Bilibili, and even studied Chinese at Fudan University in Shanghai for six months to better communicate with the "passionate and enthusiastic "Chinese fan community.

Hayato Kato, a 27-year-old Japanese creator, has been living in Shanghai since 2021. He has posted over 200 videos on his experiences in China and gained more than 780,000 followers on Bilibili. Kato was happy to see many familiar Japanese exhibitors at the event and said he values BW as a platform for cultural exchange and shared creativity among global ACGN fans.

The growing ACGN industry in China is not only crossing national boundaries but also filling cultural and generational gaps. One standout example is Qiu Danli, a 41-year-old Yueju Opera performer with the Shanghai Yue Opera House, who is using Bilibili to bring traditional Chinese opera to younger, international audiences in new and engaging ways.

Influenced by her friend and her teenage daughter, Qiu became fascinated with ACGN culture. She began integrating games and anime themes into opera performances — an experiment that has proven popular among younger viewers.

"The younger generation is full of energy and creativity and has a passion for traditional Chinese culture. Their comments and creativity inspire me. Some have even joined my team. I hope we can connect across ages and cultural divides to promote traditional opera together," says Qiu.

Data from iiMedia Research reports show that the pan-ACGN user base in China has grown significantly in recent years. With the user base likely to reach over 500 million by 2029, the pan-ACGN market is expected to expand from 597.7 billion yuan ($82.91 billion) in 2024 to 834.4 billion yuan by 2029.