Esports industry rakes in 26.3 billion yuan

The number of esports players in China reached 488 million in 2023, up 0.1 percent compared to the previous year, according to an industry report released in South China's Shenzhen on Wednesday.

The actual revenue of the esports industry was 26.35 billion yuan ($3.71 billion) in 2023, down 1.31 percent year on year, as reported by the Electronic Sports Committee of China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association.

In the breakdown of revenue sources, esports livestreaming claimed the largest share at 80.87 percent, while event and club revenue accounted for 8.59 percent and 6.42 percent, respectively.

Among the major esports game categories, shooting titles took the lead with 28 percent, followed by multiplayer online tactical games at 15.9 percent and sports-based games at 12.2 percent.

In 2023, the number of non-exhibition esports events featuring provincial-level and professional players saw a year-on-year increase, totaling 127 events, among which Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou hosted the most offline esports events.

The report also indicated that China's esports industry has continued to expand globally this year, especially in Southeast Asia. Some events have established themselves as popular local esports competitions in countries like Indonesia and the Philippines.

Xinhua