A consumer tries a gaming console during the Lunar New Year holiday at a duty-free shopping mall in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Feb. 14, 2021. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

In 2022, the US, Japan and South Korea remain the top three overseas markets for Chinese gaming enterprises while expanding in other markets globally, indicating a continuous expansion for Chinese enterprises going abroad in emerging markets, per an industry report released on Tuesday.

The revenues domestic firms generated from the US, Japan and South Korea for self-developed games accounted for 32.31 percent, 17.12 percent and 6.97 percent respectively in the total income, according to the report. 

The report was released during an annual game industry conference in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, and presented by Zhang Yijun, vice-chairman of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association.

In 2022, China's gaming industry was significantly affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, leading to decline market revenues, according to Zhang, adding that the domestic gaming enterprises have been actively expanding overseas markets. 

Zhang noted that trade barriers along with relatively underdeveloped mobile internet in some countries and regions, have also affected Chinese game enterprises' expansion of overseas business, according to media reports. 

The sales of locally developed games in overseas markets recorded a year-on-year decline of 3.7 percent to $17.35 billion, exceeding the $10-billion-mark for four consecutive years, according to the report. 

The report also noted that China's gaming sales revenue dropped 10.33 percent year-on-year in 2022 to 265.89 billion yuan ($38.95 billion), the first decline in eight years as the industry has entered an era of consolidation over explosive growth. 

Moving forward, the report outlined that the expansion in overseas markets is likely to become a strategic choice for more enterprises, and the development focus on globalization for the Chinese game industry is becoming clearer.

The domestic gaming industry is expected to rebound following the downgraded management of COVID-19 and the overall economic recovery in China.

Games have become a new dynamic energy to broaden and empower the social and economic development with the full integration with cutting-edge technology and high-tech industries, Wang Yi, vice president of NetEase, said, domestic finance website cs.com reported. 

The industry will likely to recover rapidly in the first half of 2023 following the launch of new games and more regular issuance of game version updates, according to a report from Huaxi Securities. 

The National Press and Publication Administration approved 87 games in February, per an official announcement from the administration on February 10. 

Global Times