China’s Steam & PC Gaming Market in 2025

Views: 4

China gaming

market share,

2025

Steam vs PlayStation

vs Nintendo vs Xbox

Chinaʼs domestic gaming market reached RMB

350.789 billion in 2025, with 683 million

users
1
. Within that market, client games

accounted for 22.28% of total revenue,

implying a PC segment worth roughly $1112

billion. The console market remained far

smaller, at roughly $1.11.2 billion in 2025
2
.

1.
Xinhua, summary of the 2025 China Game Industry Report:
https://english.news.cn/20251219/5e2776f7a07f49e89fe6e2713fba5e05/c.html

2.
South China Morning Post, “Chinaʼs video game sales reach record in 2025 amid overseas expansion, AI investmentˮ:
https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3337112/chinas-video-game-sales-reach-record-2025-amid-overseas-expansion-ai-investment

3.
This four-platform split is an analytical estimate synthesized from the official 2025 China market structure, GamerSkyʼs Steam MAU indicators on Bilibili, Huaxin Renʼs
(https://www.hxrcon.com/index.php?c=show&id=25847 Nintendo user-base indicators, and public reporting on the relative size of Chinaʼs console market.

China gaming

market share,

2025

Steam vs PlayStation

vs Nintendo vs Xbox

Using several source anchors, we can estimate

the combined four-platform market share as

follows:

●
This four-platform split is an analytical estimate synthesized from the official 2025 China market structure, GamerSkyʼs Steam MAU indicators on Bilibili, Huaxin Renʼs
(https://www.hxrcon.com/index.php?c=show&id=25847 Nintendo user-base indicators, and public reporting on the relative size of Chinaʼs console market.

Steam and

consoles keys

distribution

platforms

Chinaʼs third-party game distribution landscape

is fragmented, with different platforms serving

different roles in discovery,

community-building, and direct game sales.

Rather than competing on identical terms,

Sonkwo, Heybox, and TapTap occupy distinct

positions across the Steam-facing PC market

and Chinaʼs broader domestic distribution

ecosystem.

Here is a comparison table:

●
Sonkwo official/community site: https://club.sonkwo.cn/

●
Sonkwo platform description and activation-code positioning: https://club.sonkwo.cn/posts/2367500

●
Heybox official storefront: https://heybox.hk/

●
Chinese guide on Heybox purchase / CDKEY activation workflow: https://m.ali213.net/news/gl2412/1570717.html

●
TapTap official site: https://www.taptap.io/

●
TapTap China discussion mentioning Steam activation codes: https://www.taptap.cn/app/743960/topic?page=3

●
TapTap post mentioning Steam version activation code: https://www.taptap.cn/moment/578390827726801202

●
Guide to the Chinese market ISBN / distribution context): https://global-uploads.webflow.com/64942d236be13123d68c558f/64e334743aa7cac74b5

97254_HQ%202023%20%20Guide%20to%20the%20Chinese%20market.pdf

●
RVO overview of the Chinese gaming industry (publishing / ISBN context):
https://www.rvo.nl/files/file/202304/Overview%20of%20Chinese

%20Gaming%20Industry%20and%20opportunities%20for%20Dutch%20companies.pdf

Platforms used to

promote Steam

games in China

Steam games in China are rarely promoted

through a single dominant channel. Instead,

publishers typically combine mass-reach social

platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu,

core-gamer content hubs such as Bilibili and

Heybox, and broader topic-amplification

through Weibo.

●
TapTap campaign page for a Steam title explicitly listing Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaoheihe: https://www.taptap.cn/moment/681462186232515677

●
Steam store page example listing Bilibili, Xiaoheihe, and Xiaohongshu as official channels:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3209750/STARIO/?curator_clanid=45126697&l=schinese

●
Bilibili campaign / article page referencing multi-platform participation around a Steam game: https://www.bilibili.com/read/cv27465653/

●
Tencent SPARK 2025 ecosystem partner coverage including Douyin Game, bilibili, Xiaohongshu, Huya, Douyu, TapTap, Kuaishou: https://www.youxituoluo.com/533355.html

●
Chinese feature on Xiaohongshuʼs growing role in game promotion, including indie game examples: https://cj.sina.cn/articles/view/5617041192/14ecd3f2802001ki0k

●
TapTap article discussing Steam-game promotion dependence on streamers / distribution buzz: https://www.taptap.cn/moment/467366423740547613

●
Heybox official homepage: https://xiaoheihe.cn/home

Most popular

game genres on

Steam in 2025

Note: No single public 2025 source provides
an

official Steam genre-share breakdown. This

section therefore presents an editorially

defensible estimate based on a wider review of

official Steam pages, Chinese industry

reporting, Chinese roundups of trending Steam

categories, and supporting English-language

references. The purpose is to show the likely

genre mix among popular Steam titles in 2025,

not to claim an official Valve market-share

dataset.

●
Steam Best of 2025 (official Steam page): https://store.steampowered.com/charts/bestofyear/2025

●
Steam Awards (official Steam page): https://store.steampowered.com/SteamAwards

●
Steam tags browser (official Steam taxonomy reference): https://store.steampowered.com/tag/browse/

●
36Kr Chinese): 2025 trend analysis of Chinese single-player / PC games, emphasizing action-led design: https://m.36kr.com/p/3170816161819136

●
Youxituoluo Chinese): secondary synthesis stating that Action is the top revenue genre on Steam and highlighting shooter-heavy subgenres:
https://www.youxituoluo.com/534007.html

●
Gamersky Chinese): 2025 roundup of Steam simulation/management games: https://www.gamersky.com/handbook/202503/1892301.shtml

●
Gamersky Chinese): 2025 year-end roundup of Steam simulation/management games: https://shouyou.gamersky.com/gl/202512/2065482.shtml

●
Gamersky Chinese): 2025 roundup of worthwhile indie games on Steam: https://www.gamersky.com/handbook/202512/2055945.shtml

●
Gamersky Chinese): 2025 roundup of fun Steam games across genres: https://www.gamersky.com/handbook/202504/1912069.shtml

●
TapTap Chinese): Steam Awards 2025 summary showing category breadth and player-voted preferences: https://www.taptap.cn/moment/756893311205115448

●
GameLook Chinese): survival-game category discussion on Steam: https://www.gamelook.com.cn/2024/09/553490/

How users

discover Steam

on Chinese social

media

All six platforms support Steam-game

discovery through search and creator-driven

content. Heybox stands out for Steam-native

topic tags and editorial sale/recommendation

roundups. RED is strongest through search,

algorithmic recommendations, and creator

buzz. WeChat is structurally different, relying

on Moments, official accounts, video accounts,

and
搜一搜
rather than a dedicated gaming

feed. Weibo and Bilibili combine search,

creators, and topic-led discovery, while Douyin

is strongest through search, recommendation

flow, creators, hashtag usage, and short-video

/ livestream surfaces.

●
Heybox: search use for Steam annual review entry: https://api.xiaoheihe.cn/maxnews/app/share/detail/2397788

●
Heybox: topic-tag activity such as Steam summer-sale recommendation: https://api.xiaoheihe.cn/maxnews/app/share/detail/2651936

●
Heybox: creator / recommendation roundup example: https://api.xiaoheihe.cn/maxnews/app/share/detail/2561694

●
Heybox: creator guide mentioning system recommendation: https://api.xiaoheihe.cn/maxnews/app/share/detail/2165906

●
TapTap campaign page showing Xiaohongshu among standard cross-platform Steam-title posting channels: https://www.taptap.cn/moment/681462186232515677

●
Sina Finance / Blue Whale: Xiaohongshu expanding game ecosystem, with creator/community-led game content: https://finance.sina.cn/stock/jdts/20250819/detail-infmpqhx2461238.d.html

●
PConline: Xiaohongshu as a search engine, highlighting strong user reliance on search: https://www.pconline.com.cn/focus/1782/17827068.html

●
TapTap / ACGx: Xiaohongshuʼs decentralized recommendation logic and trust in UGC: https://www.taptap.cn/moment/743171569429253512

●
GameRes: WeChat ecosystem distribution via official accounts,
搜一搜
,
看一看
,
小程序
,
朋友圈
and
群聊
: https://www.gameres.com/879834.html

●
GameRes: Zhang Xiaolong on social recommendation plus machine recommendation in video/live surfaces: https://www.gameres.com/879788.html

●
Weibo hot/topic page example showing
热门
微博
,
热门视频
, and
微博推荐
: https://weibo.com/a/hot/1308807c2b939a0c_0.html?type=grab

●
Bilibili topic page: Steam discount recommendation: https://m.bilibili.com/topic-detail?topic_id=1041995&topic_name=Steam%E6%89%93%E6%8A%98%E6%8E%A8%E8%8D%90

●
Bilibili topic page: indie game creator alliance / UP-owner matrix:
https://m.bilibili.com/topic-detail?spm_id_from=0.0.top.function_card.click&topic_id=1032284&topic_name=%E7%8B%AC%E7%AB%8B%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E7%88%86%E5%8F%91

●
Douyin search: Steam
游
戏
: https://www.douyin.com/search/Steam%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F

●
Douyin search: steam
游
戏
推荐
: https://www.douyin.com/search/steam%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E6%8E%A8%E8%8D%90

●
Douyin search: Steam
多人
联
机游
戏
推荐
:
https://www.douyin.com/search/Steam%E5%A4%9A%E4%BA%BA%E8%81%94%E6%9C%BA%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E6%8E%A8%E8%8D%90

●
Douyin search: steam
游
戏动态
: https://www.douyin.com/search/steam%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E5%8A%A8%E6%80%81

Average game

price on Steam

by genre: China

vs Western

markets

There is no single public 2025 Steam dataset

that provides official average list prices by

genre for both China and Western markets.

This document therefore uses a

research-based benchmark model rather than

claiming an official Valve genre-pricing table.

The model is anchored to verified 2025 price

signals from Chinese and English-language

sources.

●
36Kr Chinese, 2025 action-adventure example with average price of $24.2 for high-income titles: https://36kr.com/p/3523050913700736

●
36Kr Chinese, 2025 Split Fiction priced at RMB 198 in China vs $49.99 globally: https://m.36kr.com/p/3196285624352391

●
36Kr Europe / Chinese 2025 Revenge of the Savage Planet priced at RMB 140 in China: https://eu.36kr.com/zh/p/3341422366620165

●
Youxituoluo Chinese, 2025 Steam top-new-release average/median price trends, 20232025: https://www.youxituoluo.com/534032.html

●
Youxituoluo Chinese, 2025 premium hit with China final price around RMB 199.64: https://www.youxituoluo.com/533977.html

●
Youxituoluo Chinese, 2026, using Newzoo 20222025 PC pricing trend): sub-$30 and $3050 price-band growth: https://www.youxituoluo.com/534298.html

●
Youxituoluo Chinese, 2025 MMO demand in the West and buy-to-play MMO pricing examples on Steam: https://www.youxituoluo.com/533776.html

●
GameLook Chinese, 2025 paid extraction pricing in tens of RMB lowers China entry barrier: https://www.gamelook.com.cn/2025/10/580586/

●
GameDiscoverCo English, 2025 China CNY pricing averages 26% above Valve’s suggestion for AA/AAA titles:
https://newsletter.gamediscover.co/p/does-steam-have-its-regional-pricing

●
Games.GG English): summary of the same pricing study: https://games.gg/news/steam-pricing-system-and-why-it-matters-in-2025/

●
Evolve PR English, 2025 China regional pricing study, suggesting China pricing is often 30% to 55% below direct USD-to-RMB parity:

Regional Pricing Study – China

●
GameRes forum Chinese, older baseline): indie games around $10 on Steam; paid multiplayer around $20: https://bbs.gameres.com/thread_444817_1_1.html

●
Top 50 / Top 25 Steam positive-review rankings and related recommendation cluster: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1K14y1X7qW/

●
Best-selling Steam games / multiplayer top list cluster: https://www.bilibili.com/list/ml44771962

●
Weekly Steam historical-low-price recommendation roundup: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1p8PXz7EPF/

●
20 free Steam games recommendation video: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1pU4y1K7fE/

Major game

expos and shows

in China

Chinaʼs event landscape is segmented not only

by size, but also by platform relevance.

ChinaJoy remains the largest and most

internationally visible expo, while Bilibili World

is strongest for fandom and creator energy.

However, for Steam / PC / indie discovery, the

most strategically relevant events are WePlay

Expo and, to a lesser extent, GFusion,

because they are much closer to enthusiast,

demo-driven, and PC-centered discovery

behavior.

●
Game Developer / Meridian Play summary with ChinaJoy 2025 and Bilibili World 2025 figures:
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/what-s-driving-growth-in-the-chinese-video-game-industry-

●
Yicai Global on ChinaJoy 2025 attendance and exhibitors: https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/chinajoy-2025-attracts-record-visitors-as-chinese-gaming-industry-flourishes

●
Meet in Shanghai on Bilibili World 2025
https://www.meet-in-shanghai.net/en/2025-shanghai-tourism-festival/bilibili-world-transforms-shanghai-into-a-mecca-for-gaming-fans-and-ai-innovation-753919/

●
China Daily regional note on BW 2025 reservation / ticket demand: https://regional.chinadaily.com.cn/shhongqiaocbd/202507/14/c_1108864.htm

●
WePlay Expo official English page: https://www.weplaymore.com/english

●
Events for Gamers: WePlay Expo baseline figures: https://www.eventsforgamers.com/event/weplay-expo-2025/

●
Events for Gamers: GFusion Game Fest 2025: https://www.eventsforgamers.com/event/g-fusion-game-fest-2025/

●
Youxituoluo Chinese): 2025 ChinaJoy shifted toward domestic single-player / PC titles and indie presence: https://www.youxituoluo.com/533686.html

●
Youxituoluo Chinese): ChinaJoy x Game Connection INDIE GAME event with Steam visibility support: https://www.youxituoluo.com/530759.html

●
TapTap Spotlight Plan: offline expo opportunities including ChinaJoy and indie zones: https://www.youxituoluo.com/533317.html

Bilibili / TapTap

audience and

community

dynamics

Both platforms function as active communities

rather than passive user pools. Bilibili offers

much larger consumer scale, while TapTap

offers a more explicitly game-native review,

forum, and conversion environment. In both

cases, user participation helps extend official

marketing into broader organic reach.

How to read the chart: The indicators are not identical

metrics, but they show the scale and activity layer behind

community behavior. For Bilibili, the chart highlights overall

audience size and the minimum scale of game-content

reach implied by 40%+ of DAUs watching game-related

PUGV or livestream content. For TapTap, it highlights

game-native scale indicators published by the platform

itself.

●
Bilibili Q2 2025 investor presentation: 108.0M DAU, 365.2M MAU, 106 min/day, 40% DAUs viewed game-related content, games as most popular PUGV/live genre:
https://ir.bilibili.com/media/zalh04vs/q22025-bilibili-inc-investor-presentation.pdf

●
Bilibili 2024 annual report: bullet chat, official members, interactive community design: https://ir.bilibili.com/media/reeb2oqf/2024-annual-report-on-form-20-f.pdf

●
TapTap official metrics page: 10M MAU, 9M monthly conversions, 60k developers, 120k+ games, reviews/guides/discussions: https://www.taptap.io/mobile

●
TapTap 2025 Game Awards voting announcement: 34 games, 100+ judges: https://www.taptap.cn/moment/752837488778677316

●
TapTap 2025 Awards results: millions of player votes, Best Overseas Game, Best Domestic PC Game: https://www.taptap.cn/moment/764394703054439766

●
TapTap Awards page: Best Overseas Game and Best Domestic PC Game among 2025 categories: https://www.taptap.cn/poster/NHc3wNAgN9zw-1

●
TapTap community operations guide: community as the main communication ground and soil for content extension; traffic support: https://www.taptap.cn/moment/580820744309575140

●
TapTap creator incentive campaign with #
鸣
潮
创
作激励
and related UGC tags: https://www.taptap.cn/moment/752866774906570816

●
TapTap hashtag page for #
鸣
潮
创
作激励
showing 12.43M views: https://www.taptap.cn/hashtag/%E9%B8%A3%E6%BD%AE%E5%88%9B%E4%BD%9C%E6%BF%80%E5%8A%B1

●
TapTap community/forum page emphasizing detailed guides, many player videos, and finding like-minded partners: https://www.taptap.cn/app/219381/topic?page=71

●
TapTap-hosted Games Grape article: player decision increasingly happens before download, through searching community opinion and guides:
https://www.taptap.cn/moment/766112646347884540

Merchandise and

fan economy in

China

In 2025, game-related merchandise was

already a meaningful part of Chinaʼs consumer

commerce ecosystem. The strongest

open-source evidence comes not from a single

official ‘game merch market sizeʼ figure, but

from Taobao/Tmall transaction scale, user

growth, event-based sales acceleration, and

company-level IP derivative revenue.

●
21st Century Business Herald / 21jingji: Taobao/Tmall trend-toy GMV nearly RMB 100B in 2025; game and esports physical derivatives entered the top-3 subcategories:
https://www.21jingji.com/article/20260409/herald/ef69ebe6851e9040e7b722b3385c9e0a.html

●
Sina Finance repost of TaoTian trend-toy data: nearly 100M new users in 2025: https://finance.sina.cn/stock/jdts/20260408/detail-inhtuupu2682784.d.html?vt=4

●
21jingji / 618 2025 2,400+ trend-toy stores with triple-digit sales growth: https://www.21jingji.com/article/20260409/herald/ef69ebe6851e9040e7b722b3385c9e0a.html

●
100EC citing Tmall 2025 consumption trends: game merchandise and anime merchandise both posted double-digit growth during Double 11
https://www.100ec.cn/detail–6655728.html

●
Xinhua / QuestMobile via Sina: 155M Taobao MAU among users born after 2000 in Oct 2025: https://finance.sina.cn/stock/jdts/20260408/detail-inhtuupu2682784.d.html?vt=4

●
36Kr 2025 Yuewen H1 2025 IP-derivative GMV reached RMB 480M: https://m.36kr.com/p/3435280601976197

●
36Kr 2025 discussion of Taobao as a core base for merchandise livestream selling and fandom purchasing: https://m.36kr.com/p/3402101959215236

●
36Kr 2025 game-official merchandise becoming more mature and more accepted by players: https://m.36kr.com/p/3244165089656836

Hit phenomena

and brand

awareness in

China

In China, hit momentum is rarely built at launch

alone. Across Black Myth: Wukong, Cyberpunk

2077, Elden Ring, and Sultanʼs Game, hype

forms through a mix of symbolic positioning,

visible community attention, creator/UGC

amplification, and later commercial validation.

These are deliberately mixed indicators, not one common

denominator. The point is to visualize how awareness

becomes visible in different ways: wishlists, follower scale,

viral creator videos, and user-generated note volume.

●
Game World Observer / GameDiscoverCo summary: Black Myth reached 4M Steam wishlists, 6070% from China, and 854K after SGF
https://gameworldobserver.com/2024/06/18/black-myth-wukong-wishlists-4-million-china-high-demand

●
SCMP Black Myth pre-orders were about 16x oversubscribed in China:
https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3266168/chinese-triple-video-game-black-myth-wukong-proves-big-hit-initial-pre-orders-16-times

●
Niko Partners: 29M Chinese stream viewers on launch day; 74% on Bilibili: https://nikopartners.com/journey-to-success-black-myth-wukong-breaks-records-on-day-one/

●
Niko Partners brief: 50M+ views for Black Mythʼs 2020 Bilibili reveal trailer:
https://nikopartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2024.09.23Niko-Knowledge-Brief_The-Wukong-Effect.pdf

●
36Kr: Cyberpunk 2077 had full Chinese dubbing and CDPRʼs official Bilibili account had nearly 1M followers: https://m.36kr.com/p/1204130905159689

●
SCMP / Abacus: Cyberpunk 2077 became an instant best-seller on Steam in China after E3 2019 / Keanu reveal:
https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3029408/cyberpunk-2077-instant-best-seller-steam-china-pre-orders-open

●
Youxituoluo: Cyberpunk 2077 as a case of long-tail brand recovery via updates and Edgerunners-era attention: https://www.youxituoluo.com/534007.html

●
Gematsu: Elden Ring surpassed 30M worldwide shipments and digital sales by Apr 2025: https://www.gematsu.com/2025/04/elden-ring-shipments-and-digital-sales-top-30-million

●
Bilibili: Chinese-player meme/community Elden Ring video with 10.747M views: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1yi421a7oc/

●
36Kr / KR Asia: Sultanʼs Game sold 660K+ copies and became a traffic password on Xiaohongshu and Bilibili; nearly 100K Xiaohongshu notes: https://eu.36kr.com/zh/p/3343412658454657

●
KR Asia English: Sultanʼs Game became Chinaʼs breakout Steam hit: https://kr-asia.com/indie-no-more-sultans-game-becomes-chinas-breakout-steam-hit

●
GameDev Reports: Black Myth sold 18M+ copies in two weeks: https://gamedevreports.substack.com/p/games-and-numbers-september-4-september

●
GameDev Reports: Phantom Liberty sold 10M+ copies: https://gamedevreports.substack.com/p/games-and-numbers-may-21-june-32025

●
GameDev Reports: Sultanʼs Game hit 1M copies sold: https://gamedevreports.substack.com/p/weekly-gaming-reports-recap-july-8d7

The four cases show that China does not produce one single hit pattern. Black Myth is the clearest case of

nationally resonant pre-launch anticipation. Cyberpunk shows how an imported blockbuster can become locally

embedded. Elden Ring shows that a prestige game can be kept alive by creator expertise and meme culture.

Sultanʼs Game shows that strong community resonance can itself become the marketing engine.

Limits of

regional analytics

and Сhina

go-to-market

China-origin demand and mainland-China

storefront sales are not the same thing. This

mismatch is strongest on consoles, where

players often transact through Hong Kong or

Taiwan storefronts, but it also affects PC

whenever player location and store region

diverge.

●
GameDev Reports / Meridian Play: China console market reached about $1.18B in 2025: https://gamedevreports.substack.com/p/exclusive-meridian-play-china-gaming

●
GameDev Reports recap of GameDiscoverCo: PlayStation has a large Hong Kong audience share, likely influenced by grey shipments / mainland demand:
https://gamedevreports.substack.com/p/gamediscoverco-where-steam-and-playstation

●
GameDiscoverCo: median HK ownership just under 3.8%; Wo Long estimated 52% HK on PlayStation:
https://newsletter.gamediscover.co/p/in-depth-inside-chinas-hidden-game-console-market

●
Bilibili repost of Niko Partners / Polish report: 16.7M console players in China and $2.3B official+grey console hardware/software market by end-2022
https://www.bilibili.com/opus/905333922978594825

●
Official Nintendo Switch China notice: mainland eShop and online services phased out in 2026: https://www.nintendoswitch.com.cn/topics/e5db764e-9f464ec381076e0c7268fc78

●
Reuters: Nintendo Switch China online services shutdown affects only official Chinese version; many Chinese gamers use other versions:
https://www.reuters.com/technology/chinese-online-service-nintendo-switch-cease-operations-march-31202620241126/

●
Official PlayStation HK store: https://store.playstation.com/zh-hans-hk/pages/latest

●
Official PlayStation China mainland store: https://store.playstation.com/zh-hans-cn/pages/latest

●
QQ / Chinese explainer: mainland China players may buy HK or TW versions of Switch 2 as international versions: https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20250404A01ZTG00

●
QQ / Chinese retrospective on
国行
Switch limitations: https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20250624A09KIJ00

Limits of

regional analytics

and Сhina

go-to-market

The cleanest way to describe China in

go-to-market terms is not as a single storefront

territory, but as a layered demand system.

Awareness may be built inside mainland

social/community platforms, transaction may

happen in Hong Kong or Taiwan storefronts,

and the player may still be physically in

mainland China. That is why storefront sales

alone are often a weak proxy for real China

demand.

●
GameDev Reports / Meridian Play: China console market reached about $1.18B in 2025: https://gamedevreports.substack.com/p/exclusive-meridian-play-china-gaming

●
GameDev Reports recap of GameDiscoverCo: PlayStation has a large Hong Kong audience share, likely influenced by grey shipments / mainland demand:
https://gamedevreports.substack.com/p/gamediscoverco-where-steam-and-playstation

●
GameDiscoverCo: median HK ownership just under 3.8%; Wo Long estimated 52% HK on PlayStation:
https://newsletter.gamediscover.co/p/in-depth-inside-chinas-hidden-game-console-market

●
Bilibili repost of Niko Partners / Polish report: 16.7M console players in China and $2.3B official+grey console hardware/software market by end-2022
https://www.bilibili.com/opus/905333922978594825

●
Official Nintendo Switch China notice: mainland eShop and online services phased out in 2026: https://www.nintendoswitch.com.cn/topics/e5db764e-9f464ec381076e0c7268fc78

●
Reuters: Nintendo Switch China online services shutdown affects only official Chinese version; many Chinese gamers use other versions:
https://www.reuters.com/technology/chinese-online-service-nintendo-switch-cease-operations-march-31202620241126/

●
Official PlayStation HK store: https://store.playstation.com/zh-hans-hk/pages/latest

●
Official PlayStation China mainland store: https://store.playstation.com/zh-hans-cn/pages/latest

●
QQ / Chinese explainer: mainland China players may buy HK or TW versions of Switch 2 as international versions: https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20250404A01ZTG00

●
QQ / Chinese retrospective on
国行
Switch limitations: https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20250624A09KIJ00

Streamers and

the content

ecosystem as a

distribution layer

In China, creators and streamers are not just a

marketing layer. They are part of the

distribution system: they surface games,

validate demand, connect festivals and offline

activations to player attention, and help turn

visibility into search, wishlists, and conversion.

●
Bilibili Q2 2025 investor presentation: 108.0M DAU, 365.2M MAU, 106 min/day, games as top PUGV and livestream category, 40%+ of DAUs watched game-related content:
https://ir.bilibili.com/media/zalh04vs/q22025-bilibili-inc-investor-presentation.pdf

●
36Kr / NewRank: in H1 2025, 19 gaming accounts were in Bilibiliʼs Top-100 fastest-growing accounts: https://36kr.com/p/3364334459586308

●
Sina Finance: vertical game livestreaming platforms face pressure from Bilibili / Douyin / Kuaishou; livestreaming shifts from simple viewing toward cultural participation:
https://finance.sina.com.cn/jjxw/20250331/doc-inerpuqk8170955.shtml

●
Sina Finance: Huya MAU reached 162M in Q3 2025: https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/20251113/doc-infxhkcw3827684.shtml

●
TapTap official metrics page: 10M MAU, 9M monthly game conversions, 120,000+ games, reviews / guides / discussions: https://www.taptap.io/mobile

●
Steam official page: GFusion Game Festival 2025 sale page: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/g-fusion2025

●
Zhihu / Chinese commentary: recent Steam Next Fest editions included 40 Chinese indie titles: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/2012098576285734367

●
GameDev Reports / Meridian Play: China gaming industry in 2025, including PC client-game market share and broader context for multi-platform launches:
https://gamedevreports.substack.com/p/exclusive-meridian-play-china-gaming

Streamers and

the content

ecosystem as a

distribution layer

Bilibili is the clearest proof that game content

already functions as mass-scale infrastructure

for discovery. Games are Bilibiliʼs most popular

PUGV and livestream category, and 40%+ of

DAUs watch game-related video or livestream

content.

●
Bilibili Q2 2025 investor presentation: 108.0M DAU, 365.2M MAU, 106 min/day, games as top PUGV and livestream category, 40%+ of DAUs watched game-related content:
https://ir.bilibili.com/media/zalh04vs/q22025-bilibili-inc-investor-presentation.pdf

●
36Kr / NewRank: in H1 2025, 19 gaming accounts were in Bilibiliʼs Top-100 fastest-growing accounts: https://36kr.com/p/3364334459586308

●
Sina Finance: vertical game livestreaming platforms face pressure from Bilibili / Douyin / Kuaishou; livestreaming shifts from simple viewing toward cultural participation:
https://finance.sina.com.cn/jjxw/20250331/doc-inerpuqk8170955.shtml

●
Sina Finance: Huya MAU reached 162M in Q3 2025: https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/20251113/doc-infxhkcw3827684.shtml

●
TapTap official metrics page: 10M MAU, 9M monthly game conversions, 120,000+ games, reviews / guides / discussions: https://www.taptap.io/mobile

●
Steam official page: GFusion Game Festival 2025 sale page: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/g-fusion2025

●
Zhihu / Chinese commentary: recent Steam Next Fest editions included 40 Chinese indie titles: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/2012098576285734367

●
GameDev Reports / Meridian Play: China gaming industry in 2025, including PC client-game market share and broader context for multi-platform launches:
https://gamedevreports.substack.com/p/exclusive-meridian-play-china-gaming

Streamers and

the content

ecosystem as a

distribution layer

The strongest China go-to-market model is no

longer a simple chain of ad spend → store

page → sales. Instead, awareness often moves

through creators, short-video clips,

livestreams, memes, rankings, and

festival/event coverage before it reaches the

storefront. That makes the content ecosystem

itself part of the distribution stack.

●
Bilibili Q2 2025 investor presentation: 108.0M DAU, 365.2M MAU, 106 min/day, games as top PUGV and livestream category, 40%+ of DAUs watched game-related content:
https://ir.bilibili.com/media/zalh04vs/q22025-bilibili-inc-investor-presentation.pdf

●
36Kr / NewRank: in H1 2025, 19 gaming accounts were in Bilibiliʼs Top-100 fastest-growing accounts: https://36kr.com/p/3364334459586308

●
Sina Finance: vertical game livestreaming platforms face pressure from Bilibili / Douyin / Kuaishou; livestreaming shifts from simple viewing toward cultural participation:
https://finance.sina.com.cn/jjxw/20250331/doc-inerpuqk8170955.shtml

●
Sina Finance: Huya MAU reached 162M in Q3 2025: https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/20251113/doc-infxhkcw3827684.shtml

●
TapTap official metrics page: 10M MAU, 9M monthly game conversions, 120,000+ games, reviews / guides / discussions: https://www.taptap.io/mobile

●
Steam official page: GFusion Game Festival 2025 sale page: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/g-fusion2025

●
Zhihu / Chinese commentary: recent Steam Next Fest editions included 40 Chinese indie titles: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/2012098576285734367

●
GameDev Reports / Meridian Play: China gaming industry in 2025, including PC client-game market share and broader context for multi-platform launches:
https://gamedevreports.substack.com/p/exclusive-meridian-play-china-gaming

About Asia Game Buzz

Asia Game Buzz is a games industry research and

marketing company focused on the Chinese gaming

market. The company helps publishers, developers,

and agencies better understand how games are

discovered, discussed, and commercialized across

local platforms, communities, and content ecosystems.

Founded by Kseniya Zubareva, a marketing specialist

with over 10 years of experience in the Chinese

market. Before founding Asia Game Buzz, Kseniya

worked at one of Shanghaiʼs largest marketing

agencies, specializing in digital campaigns, platform

strategy, and audience engagement for international

brands entering China. Drawing on this experience and

deep knowledge of local gaming communities, she

later created Asia Game Buzz as a dedicated agency

focused on game marketing, community strategy,

creator campaigns, and China go-to-market insights.

Email:

contact@asiagamebuzz.com

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/company/105249207
/

Website:

asiagamebuzz.com