Chinese video gaming firms continue to look overseas for growth, shrugging off geopolitical tensions, survey finds
- Only three of the 33 companies surveyed said ‘global political and economic turbulence’ had a ‘relatively big’ impact on overseas operations
- A third of survey respondents said ‘excessive competition’ had a large impact on overseas revenue
China’s video gaming studios are largely unconcerned by geopolitical tensions when it comes to generating revenue from overseas markets, according to a survey of 33 gaming companies in the country with an overseas presence.
Only three of the companies surveyed, or 9.1 per cent, said that “global political and economic turbulence” had a “relatively big” impact on their overseas operations, according to survey results released on Monday.
Meanwhile, a third said “excessive competition” had a large impact on overseas revenue, according to the survey, which was conducted by consultancy CNG and China’s video gaming industry association.
And 30.1 per cent of survey respondents listed “lack of local talent” and the “rising cost of acquiring online traffic flows” as big influences on overseas operations. Only 6.1 per cent regarded “lack of global operational experience” as a big concern.
The survey results form part of a report that reviews the overseas operations of Chinese video gaming companies. With the domestic video games market under pressure from economic headwinds and tougher licensing requirements, gaming studios have looked overseas for new growth drivers.
The combined overseas revenue of Chinese video gaming companies dropped to US$16.36 billion in 2023, down 5.7 per cent year-on-year, marking the second consecutive year of declines, according to the Gaming Publishing Committee of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, the semi-official industry body.