China's gaming sector hits 188.45b yuan in domestic sales in H1

China's gaming industry delivered strong growth in the first half of 2026, driven by policy support, overseas expansion and AI adoption, according to an official industry report released on Thursday at the China Digital Entertainment Congress (CDEC).

Data showed that total domestic gaming sales reached 188.45 billion yuan ($27.85 billion), representing a 12.17 percent year-on-year increase, with total users reaching 684 million. Domestic sales of self-developed games grew by 16.31 percent to 163.36 billion yuan.

While mobile games maintained domestic market dominance with 135.21 billion yuan in revenue, PC games surged 27.92 percent to 45.29 billion yuan, driven by cross-platform play and several classic games. Mini-games continued their rapid expansion, jumping 36.01 percent to 31.66 billion yuan ($4.68 billion), while board games were officially tracked in the industry report for the first time, generating 3.87 billion yuan.

Overseas sales of self-developed Chinese games surged 30.22 percent to $12.37 billion, with the US (32.31 percent), Japan (14.05 percent) and South Korea (7.48 percent) dominating top target markets, while European market shares climbed. Moreover, strategy games dominated overseas mobile revenues at 46.91 percent, followed by fast-growing merge games at 16.22 percent.

Highlighting policy support, Huang Binbing, deputy head of the publicity department of Shanghai, noted the integration of online gaming into China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30).

Shanghai, the country's primary gaming hub, achieved 95.3 billion yuan in H1 sales, representing a 14.4 percent year-on-year growth, reported Huang. To spur local innovation, a 50-million-yuan annual special fund was announced, and an international service platform was launched to assist developers expanding overseas with copyright, legal and financial support.

Artificial intelligence was also a major focus. Chairman of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association Sun Shoushan noted that AI adoption among global game developers has reached 86 percent, restructuring production and player experiences. However, Sun stressed the importance of maintaining a human-centric approach. He emphasized that while AI serves as a powerful tool to boost efficiency, it cannot replace human thought, emotional connection, or deep cultural storytelling.

"Technology determines the performance that a product can achieve, but cultural depth determines whether a work can truly touch users, win the market and go global," Sun added.

Ma Tan contributed to this story.