Against the backdrop of intensifying global trade frictions, game going global is becoming a new driving force to activate the development of service trade. The "2025 China Game Overseas Research Report" recently released by the China Audio Video and Digital Publishing Association shows that in 2025, the actual sales revenue of Chinese independently developed games in overseas markets will be 20.455 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 10.23%, exceeding 100 billion yuan for the sixth consecutive year.

In the eyes of industry insiders, the global gaming market is shifting from being driven by traffic dividends to being driven by structural innovation, and Chinese gaming companies have fully entered a "new era of high-quality growth" when going global. Empowered by the open policy, Chinese games will surely ride the wave of the global digital economy and inject more vitality into the high-quality development of service trade.

Collaborative efforts in technology and culture

Chinese gaming dominates overseas expansion

Following the global success of "Black Myth: Wukong" in 2024, Chinese games have once again achieved great success in going global this year. On April 22nd, "Operation Delta" topped the free app store charts in over 160 countries and regions upon its release; On November 15th, "Yanyun Sixteen Sounds" was launched globally, with over 500000 players in just 40 minutes, sweeping the top ten best-selling charts in 20 countries and regions; In December, "Mingchao" took over "Black Myth: Wukong" and once again won the TGA "Player Voice" award as a domestic game

As a new engine for the growth of China's service trade, Chinese games have repeatedly delivered impressive results in the fierce international market competition in recent years. Behind this is the dual manifestation of China's technological hard power and cultural soft power.

Taking the overseas version of "Yanyun Sixteen Sounds" as an example, which gained 15 million players within a month of its launch, in terms of technology, the game adopts the "Messiah" domestically developed engine, which can support complex and grand scenes at a macro level and real-time ecological computing with tens of thousands of NPCs, as well as smooth cross platform communication between PC and mobile platforms. In addition, fine physical rendering effects have been achieved at the micro level, which can present details such as clothing embroidery patterns, changes in light and shadow over time and weather more clearly and realistically.

In terms of culture, in order to truly restore the historical style, the R&D team traveled to multiple provinces and cities across the country, conducted on-site research, and restored 1200 cultural relics from 16 categories in game scenes. For example, restoring landmarks such as Hongqiao and Fanlou, and recreating the bustling scene in the Qingming Riverside Scene; Design clothing scenes based on ancient paintings and terracotta figurines, and restore the night banquet at Fanlou according to the "Han Xizai Night Banquet Picture"; According to the "Beishan Wine Classic", the ancient brewing techniques are reproduced... These detailed designs not only vividly restore the urban atmosphere of the Song Dynasty, but also allow global players to immerse themselves in the charm of traditional Chinese culture.

It is worth mentioning that while Chinese games continue to enhance their attractiveness, countries around the world are also paying increasing attention to the gaming industry: from the European Parliament sounding the call for the development of electronic games, to countries such as Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Australia accelerating their layout of the electronic gaming industry, to Saudi Arabia hosting the Esports World Cup; From Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard for US $68.7 billion to Sony's accelerated deployment of the meta universe ecosystem, the game industry may be highly valued by the international community as the "next generation Internet portal", which also provides new opportunities for Chinese games to go to sea.

The export of high-quality game products like "Black Myth: Wukong" has positive significance, "said Professor Yu Xinyi from the School of International Economics and Trade at the University of International Business and Economics. On the one hand, high-quality game exports can help enhance China's position in the global cultural and creative industry and continuously strengthen the country's soft power; On the other hand, the economic benefits and global influence brought by game exports will also promote the high-quality development of China's service trade, help balance the trade structure, and increase the proportion of service trade in the total scale of foreign trade.

Comprehensive escort of open policies

Jointly support the development of enterprises

Under the guidance of policies, the Chinese gaming industry plays an increasingly important role in promoting economic development, facilitating export trade, and deepening cultural exchanges, "said Tang Jiajun, Deputy Secretary General of the China Audio Video and Digital Publishing Association and Secretary General of the Game Working Committee.

In the "Special Action Plan to Boost Consumption" issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council in March this year, support for gaming consumption was explicitly mentioned for the first time. In April of this year, the Ministry of Commerce issued the "Comprehensive Pilot Work Plan for Accelerating the Expansion and Opening up of the Service Industry", which clearly stated that "developing game overseas business, laying out the industrial chain from IP creation to game production, distribution, and overseas operation", and included games as a key area of service industry opening up.

At the same time, many regions across the country have introduced new policies tailored to local conditions to support games going global. In May, Guangdong Province issued the "Several Policy Measures to Promote the High Quality Development of Guangdong's Online Game Industry", proposing to create a "Guangdong made Game Going Global Matrix" and a "Game Enterprise Going Global Alliance", integrate resources, and concentrate efforts to promote more Guangdong original games to the international market. In June, the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province and 17 other departments jointly issued the "Several Measures to Support Game Going Global", proposing a series of measures to promote cultural and technological integration and innovation in the gaming industry, support game going global promotion and marketing, and implement precise measures for research and development, operation, and other aspects to enhance the global competitiveness of game products.

With the continuous promotion of the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port, this southernmost province in China is quietly transforming into an important highland for China's digital cultural industry, especially for gaming to go global. At the Hainan Free Trade Port Digital Culture Overseas Industrial Park located in Chengmai County, Hainan Province, nearly 2000 gaming companies have gathered, and the total annual revenue is expected to reach nearly 40 billion yuan.

Policy advantages are an important factor in attracting gaming companies to deeply cultivate in Hainan. According to the policy of "secure and orderly flow of data" in the free trade port, Hainan has taken the lead in carrying out the pilot work of game going global in the country, and issued the "Several Opinions on Promoting the Development of Game Going Global Industry", providing strong support in terms of high-quality game rewards, benefit rewards, and cross-border revenue and expenditure convenience. In addition, policies such as "zero tariffs" and "Double 15 tax incentives" will also provide important assistance for game companies in equipment procurement and talent recruitment.

From the central to the local level, a warm wave of policies is surging, indicating a bright future for Chinese games going global. Next, how can we better support the game's overseas expansion? Hu Penglin, Vice Dean of the Cultural Industry Research Institute at Shenzhen University, stated that the export of games overseas is different from the export of products in traditional industries. As a unique spiritual and cultural product, there are differences in game product grading systems, capital entry and exit, corporate income tax, tariffs, and tax refunds among different countries. It is urgent for various departments to work together to build a sound game overseas policy system, strengthen overseas cultural and legal knowledge guidance, and jointly promote the high-quality development of the game industry.