Our answer
A global force 国产游戏
683 million players at home; Chinese-made games earned over $20 billion abroad in 2025
The short answer
China’s games market took in about ¥350.8 billion in 2025 from 683 million players, and Chinese-developed games earned $20.5 billion abroad. At home, Tencent’s Honor of Kings tops the charts. Worldwide, the best-known Chinese games include Genshin Impact, Black Myth: Wukong, Marvel Rivals, Mobile Legends and Whiteout Survival.
| Players in China | 683 million (2025) |
|---|---|
| Home market | About ¥350.8 billion in sales, up 7.7% (2025) |
| Earned abroad | $20.5 billion by Chinese-developed games (2025) |
| No. 1 at home | Honor of Kings (王者荣耀), Tencent |
| Best-known abroad | Genshin Impact, Black Myth: Wukong, Marvel Rivals |
| Biggest companies | Tencent, NetEase, miHoYo |
Chinese games played around the world
Games developed by Chinese companies that are big outside China. Several are published abroad under international brands.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
| Game | Company | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Genshin Impact (原神) | miHoYo, Shanghai (HoYoverse abroad) | The game that made a Chinese studio a global name; still in the App Store China top 50 grossing games six years after launch |
| Honkai: Star Rail, Zenless Zone Zero | miHoYo | miHoYo’s follow-ups, both also on the China charts |
| Black Myth: Wukong (黑神话：悟空) | Game Science | Released 20 August 2024; sold over 10 million copies in three days and peaked at 2.4 million players at once on Steam |
| Marvel Rivals | NetEase Games, with Marvel Games | A Marvel hero shooter developed by NetEase |
| Mobile Legends: Bang Bang | Moonton, Shanghai (owned by ByteDance) | Over 1.5 billion registered users reported; launched in mainland China only in January 2025 |
| Whiteout Survival (无尽冬日) | Century Huatong, Shanghai | A 4X survival strategy game, also number 4 on China’s top grossing iPhone chart |
| Wuthering Waves (鸣潮) | Kuro Games | Kuro Games’ hit, also on China’s top 100 free iPhone chart |
| Love and Deepspace (恋与深空), Infinity Nikki (无限暖暖) | Papergames | Papergames’ hits; both in China’s top 100 grossing iPhone games |
The biggest Chinese games at home
The 10 highest-grossing iPhone games in China on 1 November 2026. Updated weekly on our China game chart.[2]
| # | Game | Chinese name | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honor of Kings | 王者荣耀 | Tencent |
| 2 | Valorant Mobile | 无畏契约：源能行动 | Tencent |
| 3 | Naruto Mobile | 火影忍者 | Tencent |
| 4 | Whiteout Survival | 无尽冬日 | Century Huatong |
| 5 | Peacekeeper Elite | 和平精英 | Tencent |
| 6 | Delta Force | 三角洲行动 | Tencent |
| 7 | Fantasy Westward Journey | 梦幻西游 | NetEase |
| 8 | Anipop | 开心消消乐 | Happy Elements |
| 9 | — | 向僵尸开炮 | Hainan Shengchang Network Technology |
| 10 | CrossFire Mobile | 穿越火线-枪战王者 | Tencent |
Source: Apple App Store China, top grossing games, iPhone. Android, which most Chinese players use, has no single national chart.
Who makes Chinese games
Two companies dominate. Tencent, based in Shenzhen, published 6 of the 10 highest-grossing iPhone games in China on 1 November 2026 and 15 of the top 50; it also owns or part-owns studios abroad, including all of Riot Games and about 40% of Epic Games (see which game companies are Chinese-owned). NetEase had 9 of the top 50, from Fantasy Westward Journey to Identity V and its Chinese editions of Minecraft and Sky: Children of the Light.
Behind them are younger studios, several with big hits abroad: miHoYo (Genshin Impact), Kuro Games (Wuthering Waves), Hypergryph (Arknights) and Papergames (Love and Deepspace, Infinity Nikki). Many of their games are ‘gacha’ games: free to play, with players paying for random draws of new characters.
The money abroad is real. According to the industry’s annual report, Chinese-developed games earned $20.455 billion outside China in 2025, and overseas revenue has topped ¥100 billion for six years in a row.[1][2][8]
Black Myth: Wukong, China’s breakthrough on PC and console
Most Chinese hits are free-to-play mobile games. Black Myth: Wukong, by Game Science, was released on 20 August 2024 for PlayStation 5 and PC, including Steam and Tencent’s WeGame in China. It sold more than 10 million copies in three days, peaked at 2,415,714 players at once on Steam, the highest 24-hour peak recorded there at the time, and reached three million concurrent players across all platforms.[4]
Questions readers ask
What is the most popular Chinese game?
In China, Honor of Kings (王者荣耀), by Tencent: on 1 November 2026 it was number 1 on both the top grossing and top free iPhone game charts in China. Abroad, the best-known Chinese games include Genshin Impact, by miHoYo, and Black Myth: Wukong, by Game Science.
Is Genshin Impact a Chinese game?
Yes. Genshin Impact is made by miHoYo, founded in Shanghai in 2012 and still headquartered there. Outside China it is published under the HoYoverse brand, run by miHoYo’s Singapore-based company Cognosphere.
What are the biggest Chinese game companies?
Tencent and NetEase, by a wide margin: together they published 24 of the 50 highest-grossing iPhone games in China on 1 November 2026. Next come younger studios with big hits, such as miHoYo, Kuro Games, Hypergryph and Papergames.
What are the best-known Chinese gacha games?
Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero (miHoYo), Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games), Arknights (Hypergryph), and Love and Deepspace and Infinity Nikki (Papergames). All are free to play and earn money from random draws for characters and items.
How big is the video game market in China?
Domestic game sales reached about ¥350.8 billion in 2025, up 7.68% on 2024, from 683 million players, according to the annual China Game Industry Report. Chinese-developed games earned another $20.455 billion abroad.
Are Chinese games available outside China?
Many are, usually under English names and through international publishing arms; miHoYo, for example, publishes abroad as HoYoverse. Some games exist only in China, such as NetEase’s Chinese edition of Minecraft. And some foreign games are not available in China at all; see [games banned or unavailable in China](/most-popular/games-banned-in-china).
Sources
- Xinhua, 2025 China Game Industry Report: domestic sales ¥350.789 billion, 683 million players, overseas sales $20.455 billion (19 December 2025, in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Apple App Store China, top grossing and top free iPhone games, 1 November 2026 (our weekly chart) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, miHoYo (founding, Shanghai headquarters, HoYoverse and Cognosphere) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Gematsu, Black Myth: Wukong sales top 10 million (August 2024) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Game Developer, NetEase and Marvel team on PvP shooter Marvel Rivals (27 March 2024) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, Moonton (Shanghai, 2014; ByteDance 2021; Mobile Legends in mainland China from January 2025) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Yicai Global, Century Huatong’s risk label lifted as stock triples on hit game Whiteout Survival · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- MCV, What does $330m get you? 40% of developer Epic (March 2013) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
Update log. 1 November 2026 — reviewed. Next review due 1 February 2027. Suggest a correction