China’s video game market revenue in Q1 2020 was approximately 30% higher than in Q1 2019, driven by increased engagement during the COVID-19 quarantine period.
02
Mobile gaming saw significant growth, with iOS weekly game downloads during the Lunar New Year 153% higher than in December 2019 and 81.6% of surveyed gamers reporting increased spending.
03
PC gaming engagement surged, with 94.6% of surveyed players spending more time on PC titles and Steam reaching a global record of 18.8 million concurrent users on February 2, 2020.
04
The closure of all 133,000 internet cafes in China eliminated a primary gaming venue for 115 million users, with 57% of surveyed cafe-goers stating they do not intend to return once restrictions are lifted.
05
Esports tournaments successfully migrated to online formats to mitigate the impact of event cancellations, with 61.7% of surveyed gamers reporting increased viewership during the outbreak.
06
Game development and outsourcing productivity were negatively impacted by lockdowns, causing project delays and leading some global companies to shift contracts to studios outside of China.
07
Gamers showed a strong preference for familiarity, with 88.8% of mobile players sticking to legacy titles and 61.5% of PC players returning to games they had previously abandoned.
Insights
01
China’s video game market revenue in Q1 2020 was approximately 30% higher than in Q1 2019, driven by increased engagement during the COVID-19 quarantine period.
02
Mobile gaming saw significant growth, with iOS weekly game downloads during the Lunar New Year 153% higher than in December 2019 and 81.6% of surveyed gamers reporting increased spending.
03
PC gaming engagement surged, with 94.6% of surveyed players spending more time on PC titles and Steam reaching a global record of 18.8 million concurrent users on February 2, 2020.
04
The closure of all 133,000 internet cafes in China eliminated a primary gaming venue for 115 million users, with 57% of surveyed cafe-goers stating they do not intend to return once restrictions are lifted.
05
Esports tournaments successfully migrated to online formats to mitigate the impact of event cancellations, with 61.7% of surveyed gamers reporting increased viewership during the outbreak.
06
Game development and outsourcing productivity were negatively impacted by lockdowns, causing project delays and leading some global companies to shift contracts to studios outside of China.
07
Gamers showed a strong preference for familiarity, with 88.8% of mobile players sticking to legacy titles and 61.5% of PC players returning to games they had previously abandoned.