Charts of the Day: Slowed Growth in Games Market After 10-Month Freeze

The Chinese online games market will grow by 5.3% in total revenue this year, a slump compared with its 23% expansion in 2017, a new report predicts. The lackluster performance follows a 10-month freeze on the market imposed by the regulator earlier this year.

Revenue is expected to hit 214.4 billion yuan ($31.10 billion) this year, up from 203.6 billion in 2017, according to a report released on Friday by industry research firm Gamma Data and the Chinese Game Publishers Association Publications Committee (GPC).

Revenue includes the real money that gamers spend on things like subscription plans, in-game items and power-ups. Mobile games account for 62.5% of all gaming revenue, while PC games make up 28.9%, according to the report.

Earlier this month, the government said it had resumed approving new online-game titles for publication, ending a punishing 10-month freeze for gaming companies that apparently stemmed from concerns about how games might affect the vision of young children.

Despite slowed momentum, the Chinese market is nonetheless forecast to make nearly a quarter of the sector’s global revenue this year. China’s became the world’s largest gaming market in 2016, surpassing the U.S. and Japan in terms of revenue.

The report predicted a total of 626 million people will play games this year, nearly twice the entire population of the United States. Chinese game players reached half a billion in 2014, and the total stood at 583 million in 2017.

But those numbers don’t tell the whole story. The report defines a “game user” as a person who has played an online game at least once, whether or not they pay.