China's games market is forecast to reach $53.9 billion this year and nearly $60 billion by 2030

China's games market is forecast to generate approximately $53.9 billion in 2026, up four percent year-on-year, according to Niko Partners figures highlighted in today's industry data. The market produced around $51.8 billion in 2025, itself a 5.4 percent increase and the first time annual revenue moved beyond the $50 billion mark. Niko projects revenue of roughly $59.8 billion by 2030, equivalent to a five-year compound annual growth rate of 2.9 percent.

Average revenue per user reached about $70 in 2025 and is expected to rise to $77.68 by 2030, while the player population is forecast to reach roughly 769 million. Mobile remains central to China's enormous games economy, even as PC and other platforms continue growing alongside it. The numbers also explain why practically every major international publisher periodically looks toward China with the expression of somebody staring through the window of a very large bank.

Regulatory approvals, local partnerships and intense domestic competition make the market anything but easy, yet the potential audience remains unmatched. For mobile developers specifically, even a tiny share of hundreds of millions of active players can transform the economics of a title almost overnight.