Unclear future for China’s mobile gaming industry

Approximately 50% of mobile game companies are expected to shut down in a year, while another 50% risk closure within two years. Only roughly four of the 10,000 content providers will be able to survive in the market, an industry expert disclosed during the forum.

Some expressed misgivings over the industry's outlook as early as last year. Xu Yuan, CEO of Good Game, said during the 2nd Global Mobile Game Congress (GMGC) held in May last year that bubbles are certainly going to be formed in the heated mobile gaming market. He also predicted that more than 90% of mobile games will no longer be available from 2015 onward.

Data showed that the number of employees in the mobile gaming industry had exceeded 300,000 as of Sept. 2014, which showed a 100% increase from 2013. Meanwhile, the number of mobile game developers has exceeded 5,000, 2,000 more than the figure recorded in 2013.

Mobile games are considered the main cash cows among a wide variety of products derived from mobile internet, but small and medium mobile game companies are struggling to stay afloat in the market, according to the report.

More than 4,000 types of mobile games have been launched since the beginning of 2014, but only approximately 3% of content providers have found this venture profitable, an industry expert told the newspaper.

In addition, copyright infringement is prompting an urgent reshuffle in the industry as it hurts the benefits of copyright holders and the development of copyright protection in the country, according to the report.