What you’ll learn from this report:

A detailed analysis of youth gamer demographics, behavior, preferences, and spending; and the growth drivers and trends that will impact the youth market in China.

New regulations introduced in September 2021 further restricted the amount of time that youth gamers in China could play video games. This report shows who China’s youth gamers are, what they do with their time, what priorities they have, and what impact the regulations have had on their gaming behavior. In our most robust report to date, the findings will shine a light on China’s youth gamers so that you can build your strategy to include them in your current and future total available market.

PUBLISHED July 2022

$5,000

Key takeaways from the analysis:

  • The NPPA further strengthened anti-addiction regulations and reduced the amount of time that minors can play online video games from September 1, 2021. The new rules stated that people under 18 years old will be allowed to play only on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays, for one hour per day between 8pm and 9pm. This limits minors to 3 hours per week
  • Gaming penetration peaked in 2020 with 60% of Chinese youth playing games (vs 52% of the overall population)
  • After the 3-hour regulation was implemented, the percentage of youth gamers dropped to 40% (vs 49% of the overall population)
  • We forecast a return to near peak levels by 2026 with 56% of the youth population playing games (compared to 51% of general population)
  • 77% of Chinese youth play fewer hours per week as a direct result of the regulation
  • 54% of youth gamers now only play within the approved hours set by the government as a result of the 3-hour regulation
  • 54% of primary school students play video games, compared to 72% of junior high school students and 62% of senior high school students. The decline for senior high school students can be attributed to higher studying hours and less leisure time compared to other students
  • 86% of youth gamers play on mobile, 30% play on PC and 6% play on console
  • While we expect the esports talent pipeline to be negatively impacted, games with an esports component continue to remain the most played among youth and the older a child gets, the more likely they are to be interested in esports

What’s included:

  • A comprehensive market model and 5-year forecast through 2026 by games segment
  • Youth gamer demographics and profiles
  • Qualitative and quantitative analysis on youth gamer demand, spending, behavior, and usage for mobile, PC, and console games
  • Top games
  • Top hardware and device brands
  • Top IP and consumer brands
  • Impact of regulations on youth gamers, and market growth and revenue
  • Parent and educator attitudes
  • Youth gamer lifestyle, education, non gaming activities
  • Regulations on youth gaming
  • 92 slides
  • 62 exhibits

Report contents:

  • Executive summary
  • Population growth in China
  • China youth population
  • Youth population by age
  • Youth gamer market model
  • Youth gamer size model
  • Overview of youth gamers
  • Youth gamer behavior summary
  • Demographics
  • Age youth start playing games
  • Age youth access the internet
  • Smartphone ownership
  • Device usage
  • Most popular PC brands
  • Most popular smartphone brands
  • Most liked IP and brands
  • Gaming platforms
  • Gaming time spent
  • Top mobile games
  • Mobile game discovery
  • Mobile game play duration
  • Top PC games
  • PC game discovery
  • PC game play duration
  • Top console games
  • Console game discovery
  • Console game play duration
  • Game spending
  • Who youth gamers play with
  • Esports participation
  • Esports hotels
  • Spending on streamers
  • Parent and teacher attitudes toward gaming
  • Parent interviews
  • Gamer and parent attitudes toward gaming
  • In-game spending
  • Teacher interviews
  • Type of school attended
  • Average daily activities
  • Time spent gaming
  • Typical day students 6-11
  • Typical day students 12-14
  • Typical day students 15-17
  • Academic paths
  • Entrance exams
  • Tutoring and burden reduction measures
  • Short video consumption
  • Regulations overview
  • Regulations on gaming for Minors
  • Minors regulations timeline
  • Key regulations on minors in 2022
  • Impact of regulations on minors
  • Impact of regulations on market size
  • Gaming time spent post regulations
  • Gaming time of day post regulations
  • Use of adult IDs post regulations
  • Age rating system
  • Parental controls use
  • Impact of regulations rating
  • Who is responsible for enforcing regulations
  • Market size by age
  • Market size by gender
  • Market size by platform
  • Market size
  • Youth gamers vs total gamers and total population
  • Growth drivers
  • Growth inhibitors
  • Outlook and future trends
  • Gaming hours post age 18
  • Parent views on gaming careers
  • Future regulatory environment for youth gamers
  • Future gaming environment for youth gamers
  • Reaching youth gamers

Companies mentioned in the report:

4399 Game
Acer
Adidas
Alienware
Anta
Apple
Asus
Blizzard
Coca Cola
Dell
Disney
EA
Honor
HP

Huawei
Iphone
iQoo
KFC
Lenovo
LG
Lining
Meizu
MiHoYo
NetEase
Nike
Nintendo
OnePlus

OPPO
Perfect World
Razer
Realme
Riot
ROG
Samsung
SNK
Steam
Take-Two
Taomee
VIVO
Xiaomi