China's Game Market Shines in Mid-Year Report, Becoming a Vital Component of China's Digital Economy
August 13th saw the Shanghai Stock Exchange reach a new high since December 2021, with the index closing at 3680 points. Sector-wise, electronic chemicals, shipbuilding, non-ferrous metals, and power equipment led the gains. The game media sector opened low but rebounded to close higher, with hot ETFs such as Game ETF (159869) and Entertainment & Media ETF (516190) rising nearly 1%.
In the first half of this year, China's game market delivered a bright mid-year report - sales revenue reached 1680 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 14.08%; the number of gamers reached 679 million, up 0.72% from last year. Among them, domestic game sales grew nearly 20%, while overseas revenue exceeded $9.5 billion. In terms of speed, scale, and overseas performance, the development of China's game industry is no longer just a niche or youth entertainment phenomenon, but has become an integral part of China's digital economy. Its massive user base, continuous market growth, and extensive upstream and downstream capabilities enable it to drive employment, consumption, and exports in multiple areas. According to third-party platforms, the game content development, operation, and distribution segments directly supported tens of thousands of high-tech jobs, while related ecosystems such as IP development, video live streaming, e-sports events, and cross-border collaborations further formed a "content+platform+consumption" system with multiplier effects.
Especially noteworthy is the increasingly stable performance of domestic game developers in overseas markets. From early days of "skin-deep" pricing to today's "premium originals," China's games are gaining international influence. For example, products such as "Genshin Impact," "Crash Landing on You," and "Honkai Impact 3rd" have long maintained top positions on App Store charts in multiple overseas markets, representing the overall progress of Chinese companies in art styles, storytelling capabilities, technical implementation, and operational systems. This not only leads to increased foreign exchange earnings but also enhances China's global voice in the digital content industry.
The game sector has multiple catalysts for AI-driven innovation, content creation, and commercialization models, with Game ETF (159869) tracking the Shanghai Stock Exchange Comic Game Index to reflect the overall performance of listed companies in the comic games industry. Attention is focused on opportunities for Game ETF (159869).
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