(Yicai Global) July 31 -- There are clear signs that China’s gaming industry is on the rebound judging from the success of the country’s biggest gaming and digital entertainment exhibition ChinaJoy that draws to a close in Shanghai today.

Some 338,000 people flocked to the 20th ChinaJoy, which is being held for the first time since the pandemic, over the four days July 28 to July 31. Although, this is still below the record set in 2019 of 364,700 people, it still shows that China’s gaming industry is bouncing back.

The event attracted more than 500 exhibitors, including many big names both Chinese and foreign such as Qualcomm, Tencent Games, NetEase Games, MiHoYo, China Mobile Migu and Shengqu Games. The exhibition area, though, was smaller than the one in 2019 at 120,000 square meters compared with 170,000 sqm.

China’s gaming market will see a strong rebound in the second half, said Zhang Yijun, first vice chairman of the China Audio-Visual and Digital Publishing Association.

Despite the overall downturn in the global gaming market, China’s gaming industry is showing an upward trend, Zhang said. In the first half, the number of gamers in China reached a record high of 668 million, edging up 0.35 percent from the previous year.

China’s gaming market raked in revenue of CNY144.2 billion (USD20.2 billion) in the six months ended June 30, according to a report released by the China Audio-Visual and Digital Publishing Association during ChinaJoy. This is a 2.39 percent dip year on year, but a 22.2 percent jump from the previous month, indicating a clear trend of market recovery.

In the first half, 38.4 percent of China’s gaming companies had a market value of more than CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion), nearly double that of the end of 2022, according to a report by Gamma Data.

People are paying more attention to the link between games and technology. This year, ChinaJoy added an AIGC conference, and the China Game Developers Conference also added a special AI session.

Some 87 percent of companies surveyed are confident that AI can help them reduce costs and increase efficiency with measurable results, according to another report by Gamma Data. Over 60 percent of China’s top game publishers have plans in the field of AIGC. However, nearly half report a shortage of AIGC talent.

The gaming industry is at a critical juncture due to the AI revolution, said Wang Yi, senior vice president at internet giant NetEase. To remain competitive, companies must focus on technology, talent and applications. Special attention should be paid to game engines and AI, he added.

Editor: Kim Taylor