China’s sci-fi industry rides a tech wave as revenues hit record high
China’s sci-fi industry has built on the success of breakout hits like ‘The Three-Body Problem’, with revenues up over 15 per cent last year
China is seeing surging public interest in science fiction amid its push for technological development, with revenues reaching a record high and online search traffic more than tripling last year, according to a new report.
China’s sci-fi industry saw its gross revenues reach 126.1 billion yuan (US$18.2 billion) in 2025, up 15.7 per cent year on year, according to an annual report released at the China Science Fiction Convention on Friday, as reported by Xinhua.
The report also highlighted a 203.3 per cent year-on-year surge in sci-fi-related search traffic in China, as well as a continued expansion in the global reach of Chinese intellectual property.
“Overall, sci-fi games still account for the lion’s share of the market,” said Wu Yan, a science fiction writer and professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology, who helped compile previous editions of the annual report.
The younger generation has a particular preference for immersive and participatory forms of entertainment, according to Wu, and other media still cannot match video games in terms of either public interest or market scale.