The Chinese esports industry generated revenue of ¥26.3B RMB ($3.7B USD) in 2023, which marks a decrease of 1.31% year-over-year (YoY) compared to 2022. These numbers come from a 2023 annual report of the Chinese government’s China Audio-Visual and Digital Publishing Association (CADPA).
In addition, the CADPA emphasized that the revenue figure excludes esports games revenue. What it does include is esports streaming revenue (80.87%), esports tournament revenue (8.59%), esports organizations’ revenue (6.42%), and other undisclosed sectors related to competitive gaming in some way (4.12%). CADPA also noted that the decrease in esports streaming revenue is the main reason for the revenue decline. This decline occurred despite the industry recording an increase in esports tournaments and organizations’ revenue.
Finally, CADPA pointed out that China now has 488M esports players and users, which marks an increase of 0.1% YoY. In addition, China has 188 registered esports organizations, and that are mainly located in China’s Tier 1 and 2 cities including Shanghai (52), Beijing (15), Guangzhou (11), Hangzhou (10), Chengdu (8), and Xi’an (8).