By the end of 2023, there will be an estimated 345 Million PC gamers in China, according to Niko Partners’ 2019 China PC Online Games Market Report. If that happens, there will be more gamers in China by 2023 than the US has people.
The report confirms that China has the biggest PC gaming industry/market in the world regardless of various problems like licensing issues and ban on video games like PUBG in the country.
According to the report, Chinese domestic revenue from PC games (online) reached $15.2 million in 2018, which is slightly less than the 2017’s predicted revenue of $15.5 billion.
By 2023, Niko Partner projects that Chinese PC online game revenue will rise to $16 billion. This is less than Niko’s previously projected revenue of $17.4 billion by 2022. Apparently, the freeze on licensing of all new games in China is the cause of the decline in projected growth.
The PC online games market in China accounts for more than half of PC online games revenue in the world. Further, foreign games were 60% of China’s revenue in 2018 so clearly the China market deserves the attention of games companies worldwide. For PC hardware and components makers, China is a significant opportunity for computers, chips and accessories, both for home use and in the country’s internet cafes, the report’s description reads.
The report also mentions that 79.7 million gamers in China actively spent in video games in 2018.
China’s PC gaming market has seen rapid growth since 2001, when it was worth only $100 million. The most interesting thing is that the market continues to grow despite the heavy regulations imposed by the Chinese government. The market continues to grow at a faster rate year on year. Back in March 2019, Niko predicted a drop in the Chinese PC market after the government froze licensing of games. But the industry’s growth continued to rise rapidly.
The entire gaming industry in the United States including segments like console, PC and mobile gaming is worth $30.4 billion compared to $15.2 billion of China’s PC gaming market alone. Esports game revenue on the other hand also continues to grow in China. Nika projects Esports revenue in China to reach $9.5 billion by 2023.
That said, it’s clear that China’s PC gaming industry will continue to grow further in the upcoming years with the release of new PC games. China has now resumed the licensing process of video games with new guidelines. However, the government is likely to accept fewer PC games than before. According to Niko, China will be approving only 5000 games in 2019.
