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China’s Game Market Rebounded in 2023 as 87 Approved Games Pointed to 2024 Growth

China’s market rebounded in 2023, and a reported 87-game November approval batch highlighted a busy pipeline. 2024 brought further growth, but at a slower pace.
World2023 as 87 Approved Games Pointed to 2024 Growth Length3 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team

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China’s video-game market returned to growth in 2023, and a November approval batch drew attention to a larger pipeline of potential releases. The South China Morning Post reported 87 new games approved in that batch, including The Division: Resurgence. The number signaled a busy licensing period—not guaranteed launches or commercial success. Final figures later confirmed that China’s domestic game market kept growing in 2024, but at a slower rate than in 2023.

What did the 87-game approval figure mean?

The 87 figure was the press-reported total for new games approved in the November 2023 batch. The NPPA’s official November list, however, is specifically for domestic online games, and its numbered entries run from 1 to 86. That list includes The Division: Resurgence (全境封锁:曙光). The two counts describe different records; the 87 should not be presented as 87 domestic approvals.

A publication license is a regulatory step, not proof that a game has launched, will launch on a particular date, or will find an audience. The November batch was a visible sign of activity in the release pipeline, not a measure of likely sales.

How did China’s game market perform in 2023?

Domestic game-market actual sales revenue reached RMB 302.96 billion — Game Publishers Association Publications Committee and China Game Industry Research Institute, 2023. The figure was up 13.95% year on year and marked the first time the market exceeded RMB 300 billion. The account of the report data appears in a listed-company filing; the study’s figures are attributed to the two industry organizations, not to the filing company. Read the filing.

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The market’s user scale was about 670 million, up 0.9% year on year — Game Publishers Association Publications Committee and China Game Industry Research Institute, 2023. Revenue growth alongside modest user growth suggests the rebound was not simply a matter of a rapidly expanding user base.

How broad was the licensing pipeline?

The November batch was one part of a much larger annual total. The NPPA’s 2023 tally recorded 1,075 game publication licenses: 977 domestic titles and 98 imported titles. That year-end total covers 2023 as a whole and should not be confused with the November list or its press-reported 87-game count. See the NPPA’s 2023 licensing tally.

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In late December, the regulator approved another 105 games while proposed rules were unsettling listed game companies, according to the Associated Press. The draft proposals included limits on recharge amounts and incentives for daily log-ins or purchases. They were proposals reported at that time; they should not be treated as restrictions that necessarily took effect in that form. Read the Associated Press report.

Did the market prove lucrative in 2024?

Yes, in the sense that full-year market revenue and user numbers both rose to new highs. Domestic game-market actual sales revenue reached RMB 325.783 billion, up 7.53% — China Game Industry Report, 2024, as reported by the NPPA. The user base reached 674 million, up 0.94% — China Game Industry Report, 2024, as reported by the NPPA. See the NPPA’s 2024 industry report.

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The growth was real but slower than in 2023: the annual revenue growth rate eased from 13.95% to 7.53%. That supports the earlier outlook’s direction—continued expansion—without supporting a claim that the market accelerated or that the November approvals caused the growth.

What industry observers said helped growth

Zhang Yijun, first vice-chairman of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association and chair of its Game Publishing Committee, attributed 2024’s revenue and user growth to more new releases, including blockbuster titles; steady operations for several evergreen games; strong mini-game performance; and multi-platform distribution and cloud gaming making access and consumption more convenient. These are his explanations for the market’s performance, not evidence that any single factor or approval batch produced the annual result.

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Overseas revenue is a separate measure

Revenue from overseas sales of Chinese self-developed games reached US$18.557 billion, up 13.39% — China Game Industry Report, 2024, as reported by the NPPA. This figure describes overseas sales of self-developed games; it is not included in the domestic-market revenue figure and should not be added to it as though both measured the same market.

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What the numbers say about the 2024 outlook

The strongest conclusion is that China’s game market continued to expand in 2024, while its growth rate moderated from 2023. The approvals showed that more titles were moving through the licensing system, and the annual tally confirms the scale of that activity. But approvals are pipeline indicators: they cannot establish a release schedule, predict a hit, or explain market revenue on their own.

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A company interim filing described the first half of 2024 as a period of mild market growth, with revenue up 2.08% year on year to RMB 147.3 billion. It also cited intensifying competition and weaker consumer confidence, alongside more approvals and supportive policies. That was the company’s account of conditions in the first half—not an official full-year forecast. Read the interim filing.

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