China’s video game market reached a new milestone in 2025, generating $51.8 billion in revenue, up 5.4% year-over-year and surpassing the $50 billion mark for the first time. Niko Partners' 2026 China Player Behavior and Market Insights Report forecasts the market will grow another 4.0% in 2026 to $53.9 billion, before reaching $59.8 billion by 2030, representing a five-year CAGR of 2.9%. Player spending continues to strengthen, with annual ARPU exceeding $70 for the first time in 2025 and projected to reach $77.68 by 2030. This solidifies China’s position as the world’s largest video games market by players, with the total player base forecasted to reach 769 million players by 2030.
Blizzard launches Overwatch Rush soft launch in Indonesia with new progression and gameplay features
Overwatch Rush, Blizzard’s mobile exclusive top down hero shooter set in the Overwatch universe, entered soft launch in Indonesia on August 31, making Indonesia the first country to receive access before planned expansion to Malaysia and the Philippines. The standalone game builds on the popular Overwatch IP for PC and console. The staged release will allow Blizzard to test, learn and optimise the game before expanding its availability. Blizzard has also implemented gameplay improvements such as a redesigned tutorial, optional Aim Assist settings, enhanced communication tools, and clearer teammate status indicators, with the changes reflecting feedback from earlier testing phases.
Why this matters: Blizzard’s decision to launch Overwatch Rush in Indonesia before expanding to other Southeast Asian markets highlights the region’s growing importance for mobile first live service game testing and iteration. The game’s monetization includes optional bundles, credits, and cosmetic items, while Blizzard states that player skill remains the primary determinant of match outcomes and emphasizes that Overwatch Rush is a standalone mobile title developed separately from the main Overwatch team rather than a mobile port.
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Paving Pathways to Localize Games and Hardware: Research Brief by Niko Partners and Media City Qatar
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are emerging as key opportunities for the global video games industry. In this research brief, Niko Partners and Media City Qatar examine the growing demand for Japanese games, IP, and hardware in the GCC. The brief looks at how Japanese companies are approaching the market and highlights the opportunities for global game companies looking to expand into the region.
Download the research brief here →
China’s gaming boom goes global: Why Chinese games are taking over Gamescom
Gamescom, which took place in Germany between August 26-30, saw several Chinese studios showcase their titles at the event. These studios have traditionally been overshadowed at conferences like Gamescom by North American, European, and Japanese developers. Niko Partners President & CEO Lisa Hanson sat down with CGTN to talk about the increased visibility of Chinese games at the event, including implications for the wider global video game industry.
Holiday Inn and EStars launch esports gaming pods across four Saudi Arabian hotels
Holiday Inn, part of IHG Hotels & Resorts’ Essentials Collection, has partnered with global educational esports provider EStars to launch Elite Gaming Pods across 4 Saudi Arabian hotels following the Esports World Cup 2026. The gaming pods are available from August - December 2026 at Holiday Inn Riyadh Business District, Holiday Inn Riyadh Al Malaz, Holiday Inn Jeddah Corniche, and Holiday Inn & Suites Al Khobar, with each hotel featuring two dedicated gaming spaces equipped with MSI gaming PCs, next-generation consoles, curved monitors, premium accessories, and ergonomic seating.
Why this matters: Guests will receive complimentary access to esports titles including Fortnite, Rocket League, and Overwatch, while participating hotels will host tournaments, community events, influencer activations, and branded guest experiences with prizes including hotel stays, food and beverage vouchers, and IHG One Rewards points. Hospitality operators in Saudi Arabia are increasingly using gaming and esports experiences to attract younger consumers and create differentiated social venues. The initiative highlights how non-endemic sectors are investing in gaming engagement as Saudi Arabia continues expanding its esports ecosystem under Vision 2030.
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US looking into new semiconductor tariffs that could impact gaming hardware
The Trump administration is reportedly considering a new round of semiconductor tariffs that could significantly broaden the range of technology products subject to US import duties. One approach under discussion would apply tariffs not only to imported chips but also to products containing semiconductors, potentially including gaming consoles, PCs, laptops, GPUs, and data center servers. The proposal would build on the administration’s existing semiconductor trade policy. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly favors linking tariff relief to investment in US semiconductor manufacturing.
Why this matters: For the games industry, additional tariffs would arrive during an already challenging hardware cost environment. Console, PC, and component manufacturers are simultaneously facing higher memory costs as AI infrastructure demand increases competition for manufacturing capacity. If implemented broadly, the policy would add another variable to next generation hardware planning at a time when elevated component costs are already complicating product specifications, pricing, and launch timing.
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Tomb Busters surpasses 12 million DAU in China
Giant Interactive has confirmed that Tomb Busters has surpassed 12 million DAUs and 200 million downloads since its China launch in January 2025, establishing the title as one of the country’s largest recent mobile game breakouts. The free to play title combines extraction gameplay with cooperative horror inspired by Chinese folklore. Players explore tombs alone or in four player groups, encountering supernatural enemies, traps, puzzles, and random events. Its design deliberately contrasts tension during solo play with comedy and unpredictable social interactions in multiplayer, helping the game generate viral moments across livestreaming and social platforms. Tomb Busters has also performed particularly well among younger and female players.
Why this matters: Tomb Busters popularity has led to major titles including Identity V, Justice Online, Eggy Party, Peacekeeper Elite, and Party Stars introducing their own limited modes incorporating similar cooperative horror and social gameplay concepts. While comparisons have been drawn with Lethal Company, Tomb Busters differentiates itself through mobile accessibility, Chinese horror themes, and AI driven NPCs designed to mimic human behavior and interact dynamically with players. Tomb Busters demonstrates the growing potential of socially driven, light entry, deep engagement games in China.
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miHoYo diversifies portfolio with Nodusfall
Chinese game developer miHoYo unveiled Nodusfall during Gamescom 2026 Opening Night Live, marking a significant departure from the visual style, gameplay structure, and monetization systems associated with Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero. Nodusfall is a free to play fantasy action RPG centered around large scale encounters that can be tackled either solo or cooperatively, drawing comparisons with Monster Hunter. Its darker fantasy aesthetic also represents a departure from the anime influenced presentation that has become closely associated with HoYoverse globally. More significantly, miHoYo has confirmed that Nodusfall will not use gacha mechanics to unlock playable characters.
Why this matters: While its complete monetization model has yet to be detailed, the change is more in line with what we’ve seen from titles like Where Winds Meet that offer what is an essentially $70 AAA premium experience, but at no cost and with no pay to win elements. The shift comes as miHoYo expands the number and variety of games it operates simultaneously. Its upcoming portfolio also includes Petit Planet, a life simulation game that similarly moves into a genre outside the action RPG and turn based RPG categories where the company has established its largest audiences. miHoYo is aiming to diversify its portfolio following concerns that it is cannibalizing its audience and spending between titles.
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Kuaishou launches Lord of Mysteries in China
Kuaishou has launched Lord of Mysteries across multiple platforms on August 21, 2026. The open world MMORPG, adapted from the popular Chinese web novel of the same name, reportedly had a total development and marketing investment of RMB 1.2 billion ($179 million), making it one of China’s highest profile MMO launches this year. The game debuted at #1 on China’s iOS game download chart and #13 by game revenue. Kuaishou indicated that iOS represents approximately 15% of the game’s total revenue, suggesting Lord of Mysteries generated around $20 million across all platforms during its first week.
Why this matters: Kuaishou said the initial performance has met its commercialization expectations. Player acquisition was also strong, with 1 million registrations added within one hour and more than 5 million within 24 hours of launch. The game’s graphics, world building, and adaptation of the original IP have received praise, but it has yet to demonstrate broader breakout appeal beyond its initial audience. The launch will provide a strong case study as to whether a nearly $200 billion budget for a F2P cross platform MMORPG is sustainable.
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Xiaohongshu to host Red Land 2026 in October
Xiaohongshu (RedNote) will hold RED LAND 2026 from October 2 to October 6 on Fuxing Island in Shanghai, marking the second consecutive year that the social platform has hosted its large scale gaming and ACG event at the location. This year’s event will feature more than 100 game and anime IPs, approximately double the 2025 total. The lineup includes major Chinese games such as Honor of Kings, Black Myth: Wukong, Genshin Impact, and Honkai: Star Rail, alongside international entertainment IP including Disney’s Zootopia, Marvel, Cyberpunk 2077, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Some game producers will also attend booths to interact directly with players. The event last year had over 100,000 attendees according to organizers.
Why this matters: The expansion reflects gaming’s growing importance within Xiaohongshu’s content ecosystem. By 2025, the platform had surpassed 120 million monthly active users for game related content, while annual gaming content posts increased 147%. Xiaohongshu separately reported 137 million users interested in ACG content, with categories including fan creations, original characters, and cosplay experiencing rapid growth. Xiaohongshu has become particularly relevant for reaching female gamers and ACG audiences in China, complementing more established gaming platforms such as Bilibili and Douyin.
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Lenovo prices cloud gaming handheld at RMB 2,199
Lenovo has launched the Legion Cloud Gaming Handheld C700 in China, expanding its gaming hardware portfolio with a dedicated handheld built around Tencent’s START cloud gaming platform. The 8GB RAM and 256GB storage model is priced at RMB 2,199 ($327), while pricing for the 6GB and 128GB model has not been announced. The C700 is primarily designed to stream games rather than run demanding PC titles locally. However, Lenovo’s proprietary Legion Stream protocol and bundled dongle enable one touch streaming directly from a user’s PC over a local connection without requiring internet access. This gives the device a secondary use case as a remote play handheld for existing PC gamers.
Why this matters: The launch represents a different proposition from higher performance handheld PCs, including Lenovo’s own Legion Go products. By shifting processing requirements to the cloud or an existing gaming PC, Lenovo can offer a lower priced device while still providing access to higher fidelity PC and console style experiences. However, the device is still priced higher than the PlayStation Portal which costs $249. The C700 provides another test of whether there is meaningful consumer demand for dedicated cloud gaming hardware. Cloud gaming consumption is currently concentrated on multipurpose smartphones, PCs, TVs, and tablets, reducing the need for consumers to purchase a separate device.
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Roblox plans Riyadh headquarters to expand creator ecosystem across MENA
Roblox plans to establish a regional headquarters in Riyadh to support creators across the Middle East and North Africa, with backing from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment, Riyadh Creative District, and the General Authority of Media Regulation. The company said the new office will support Saudi Arabia’s creator ecosystem and its ambitions to become a global gaming hub, while Saudi Arabia remains one of Roblox‘s most popular and top-grossing markets. The expansion builds on Roblox‘s partnership with Savvy Games Group, which focuses on creator development and the use of Roblox as an educational platform for STEM learning among Saudi students, creators, and studios.
Why this matters: Roblox CEO Dave Baszucki said the partnership aims to lower barriers to game development and expand creator opportunities while supporting the growth of Saudi Arabia’s creator ecosystem. The announcement comes one year after local regulators proposed banning the platform over child safety concerns. Since then, Roblox has been working to bring Arabic voice moderation to the platform and to ensure that its entire platform is compliant with local regulations. Roblox‘s regional headquarters could strengthen the MENA creator ecosystem and encourage further platform-led investments in talent development and user-generated content across the region.
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Events
Tokyo Game Show
September 17-18, 2026
Tokyo, Japan
Attendee: Darang Candra
LA Games Conference
September 30, 2026
Los Angeles, USA
Speaker: Lisa Hanson
Attendee: Alexander Champlin
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