ChinaJoy expo showcases gaming industry’s bold comeback

A long-haired sorcerer examined his smartphone wearily as elves and androids passed by at the digital entertainment expo ChinaJoy on Friday, the throng a monument to the local gaming industry’s nascent resurgence after a period of stagnation.


China is the world’s largest video gaming market, but the industry has faced challenges in recent years due to a government crackdown that has limited player hours and stifled new licenses.

However, as the massive exhibition halls in Shanghai reverberated with the eager conversation of cosplaying attendees, industry insiders were optimistic for the future.

“I can see the healing is underway. And we are certain that the Chinese market will continue to grow significantly,” Yang Zhi Hong, the Shanghai managing director of gaming company Ubisoft, told AFP.

At competitor company Blizzard’s booth, a row of players wearing headsets frowned intently as onlookers followed their progress on a large screen.

Blizzard, which creates the globally popular “World of Warcraft” (WoW), will make a much-anticipated return to China in August, following a contract dispute with Chinese partner NetEase that had its servers in the country pulled offline for more than a year and half.

“Being able to play on the Chinese servers again is like returning home from wandering around foreign lands with people whose languages I don’t speak,” a “extremely excited” fan named Wang Wenzheng told the news agency.

WoW drew millions of Chinese users at its peak, but that figure pales in comparison to the stats of certain local gaming companies.

Popular games including as Tencent’s “League of Legends” and MiHoYo’s “Genshin Impact” have tens of millions of monthly local players.

“‘Genshin Impact’ is a game of special meaning to me,” said Wang Xintao, an artificial intelligence researcher who dressed up as the game’s character Zhongli.


“I started playing it… during a very difficult time of my life,” the 25-year-old said, adding, “it can bring me a quiet sense of happiness”.

Liu Xiao, a 21-year-old livestreaming host from northern Hebei province, described ChinaJoy as “a very friendly family” on his first visit.

“I am a pretty shy person. But I came to China Joy to overcome my timidity.

Ubisoft’s Yang stated that there was “no secret” to success in the lucrative Chinese market.

“The player is the only thing we need to care about and nothing else,” remarked the manager.

However, China has now presented the business with some distinct obstacles.

At ChinaJoy, a dozen or so young gamers gathered in army costumes around a sign denouncing a livestreaming ban on “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege”, a tactical shooter game produced by Ubisoft.

The regulatory hurdles for new games remain quite high, with formal clearance from authorities required before release.

One of the costumed “Rainbow Six” enthusiasts, a 16-year-old student named Nokk, claimed his favorite game had repeatedly failed to obtain a license.

“Generally speaking, I think the regulations of China’s gaming industry are a bit too strict,” he told the news agency.

Since 2021, youth under the age of 18 have been limited to one hour of internet gaming on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays during school terms, with real-name identification measures in place to prevent minors from lying about their age.


“As a global company… we need to follow the local laws and the regulations very strictly,” stated Ubisoft’s Yang.

“All the products we’re (bringing) into China, we will do the localisation for sure, and do a lot of compliance work to let it fit into the China market.”

He believed there was “still space” for corporations to expand in China, and that capitalizing on new opportunities provided by AI will be critical.

From AI-generated tales to AI-powered tools that aid in world-building, “this technology is not (only) on paper… it has already been applied into our pipeline, into our workflow,” he stated.