(Yicai Global) June 18 -- Shanghai’s online gaming industry’s sales revenue abroad surged by more than 50 percent in 2020 from the year before, as the improved quality of games produced by the city’s gaming publishers and better advertising overseas drove up sales, according to a recent report.

Shanghai’s game publishers raked in USD2.9 billion from international sales, according to market research firm CNG. Domestic income was also on the rise, leaping 24.6 percent to reach CNY99.9 billion (USD16 billion) and accounting for 35.9 percent of the country’s market.

Over 90 percent of Shanghai's game exports were for mobile terminals, Beijing-based CNG said. Game companies in Shanghai, such as Lilith Games, developer of AFK Arena, and miHoYo, developer of Genshin Impact, have improved the quality of their games and strengthened their global distribution network, all of which have contributed to the big jump in overseas sales revenue, it added.

E-sports, which is the professional gaming scene, has also experienced fast growth. Shanghai’s e-sports revenue is expected to leap 12.8 percent this year to CNY22.8 billion (USD3.5 billion), accounting for just over half of the China market, the report said.

Shanghai is also proving attractive to gaming talent. Nearly 5.8 percent of those employed in the gaming industry in the city held a graduate degree or above last year, 1.3 percentage point higher than the national average. Some 5.4 percent of companies are offering an average monthly wage of more than CNY30,000 (USD4,653), twice the national average, CNG said.

Editor: Kim Taylor