The 19th ChinaJoy or China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference was held in Shanghai from July 30 to August 2. As the country's largest and most influential games exhibition, the annual event is rooted in the anime and games culture and has extended to esports, live performance, technology, hardware and more. 

In addition to the last year's requirements to maintain social distancing and wear a face mask at the expo, more measures were implemented, including the provision of a negative PCR report for Covid-19. From the second day, live performances, esports events and gift distribution were also called off, as new cases were being found in some specific areas in the country.

International exhibitors absent due to travel restrictions

At about 400, the number of exhibitors for this year was similar to that of last year, but was 50% less than 2019 when a record number of 800 local and overseas exhibitors were present at the expo. Sony showcased its newly-launched PlayStation 5 consoles, becoming the only major console game developer who presented at the expo. 

This time, the expo welcomed a collection of more diverse participants including toymakers, soft drink brands and even car manufacturers, expanding the event's coverage to more industries where the young generations are willing to spend money. Telcos showcased 5G-based applications such as cloud gaming services and VR products. However, some gamers were disappointed as the long-established annual anime and gaming gala is becoming less focused on this kind of content. 

Besides, leading developers in the local market, including Tencent, NetEase and Perfect World, are holding their own annual games showcases in the second quarter prior to ChinaJoy - or several days after as seen with Bilibili - leaving fewer big announcements for the expo. All these factors contributed to weakened exposure of the expo to the gamer audience. 

Industry-level conferences held during the expo

However, the expo is still the most important on-site event for industry insiders from a business perspective: extended conferences were held including an esports conference, a cloud gaming conference and a developer conference. 

At the esports conference, Riot Games announced that it will open its first overseas R&D centre in Shanghai, for its major games such as League of Legends, and several new titles that are in development. Partially thanks to its parent company, the local gaming giant, Tencent, Riot Games has been successful in gaining the favour of Chinese gamers. Alibaba and Funplus also declared Shanghai as their regional headquarters for their gaming arms, as the city was honoured "Esports City" of the country due to the all-around support from the local government. 

Key market data released by presenters from industry association 

The state-backed organisation, China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association, published some country-level market data for H1 2021 at the China Digital Entertainment Conference (CDEC). This data indicated that China's games companies have pulled in CNY¥150.5 billion ($23.3bn) in revenue; growth of 7.89% year-over-year (YoY). The market maintained growth momentum, even compared to H1 2020 when lockdown fuelled growth of 22.34% YoY. 

The mobile platform generated 76.26% of the total sales revenue in H1 2021, an increase in both value and market share. PC games accounted for 19.86% of the sales revenue, representing a slight increase in revenue but a decline in market share. Browser games kept shrinking and took a 2.01% market share. 

The number of gamers in China reached 667 million, an increase of just 1.38% YoY, indicating that the domestic market is becoming more and more competitive as the waning growth creates a more static gaming population. 

Chinese developers are actively expanding their global presence. Games developed in China generated $8.5bn from overseas markets in H1 2021, up 11.58% YoY. Around 60% of this revenue was drawn from three major markets- the US, Japan and South Korea. 

The esports industry generated CNY¥72 billion ($11.2bn) in sales revenue, up 1.13% YoY, and the market is expected to grow further in the future due to the launches of new products, and the return of on-site esports events. 

The once-depressed console market was highlighted in H1 2021 with 22.54% growth YoY. Sales revenue reached CNY¥890 million ($138m), which was benefited by the release of the official new-gen consoles. 

Summarising H1 2021, the mobile-focused Chinese games market is still growing rapidly as the influence of the pandemic is waning. Casual games, console games and cloud games will become new growth points. 

The 19th ChinaJoy witnessed a shift in focus as the Chinese market has evolved. With a broader outlook on the gaming industry, this expo will further demonstrate the future of the video games market from China's perspective.