游戏行业赚快钱的时代结束了

Core Insights - The Chinese gaming industry in 2025 is characterized by a complex landscape of "recovery" and "internal competition," with market revenue exceeding 350 billion yuan and user base surpassing 680 million, indicating a year of continued recovery despite intense competition [3][4][12] - The industry is experiencing a significant market divide, with the "winner-takes-all" trend intensifying, leading to a situation where a few leading companies dominate the market, while smaller teams find new opportunities in single-player and AI-native games [3][10][12] Market Performance - In 2025, the domestic gaming market revenue is approximately 350.8 billion yuan, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 7.7%, while the user base has grown by 1.4% to over 680 million [4][5] - Self-developed games have generated overseas revenue of about 20.46 billion USD, maintaining a scale exceeding 100 billion yuan for six consecutive years [4][5] - Despite the overall upward trend in the gaming and esports industry, the market has entered a phase of stock competition, with a saturated user base and increased self-developed game output [4][5] Industry Challenges - The competition among gaming companies has intensified, with many projects failing despite significant investments, as seen with NetEase's "射雕" and Kingsoft's "解限机," which faced substantial player drop-off and negative feedback [5][6] - The cost of developing successful mobile games has increased significantly, making it harder for companies to achieve profitability [6][9] Market Dynamics - The market recovery is largely driven by a few top-tier games from leading companies like Tencent and NetEase, which dominate the revenue charts [7][9] - Tencent's gaming revenue reached 636 billion yuan in Q3 2025, with total revenue for the first three quarters exceeding 1.8 trillion yuan, solidifying its position in the market [9][10] Future Trends - The rise of single-player games is a notable trend, with companies increasingly focusing on high-quality, creative content rather than just marketing [12][13] - AI technology is emerging as a potential game-changer, offering new opportunities for smaller developers to compete by lowering development costs and enhancing creativity [11][15] - The industry is expected to enter a new "golden decade" of growth, driven by improved game quality, expanded overseas markets, and supportive policies [12][15]