Chinese Video/Computer Games

Hyper

Junior Member
Registered Member
They announced their withdrawal back in 2024, selling off a large number of relatively inexpensive assets. Embarrassingly, Moonton, which they acquired at a high price, couldn't even find a buyer.

ByteDance's understanding of the gaming business is very… ByteDance. They thought that market analysis would reveal what games players liked, and that by making games in every popular genre, one would surely succeed. The result was: 1. Players don't actually know what they need; market analysis is unreliable. 2. The Matthew effect is strong in the same genre; newcomers need genuine breakthroughs, not just simple copying, to attract players. 3. Even so, a game's success is also a matter of luck. Every year, Tencent cancels nearly a hundred games that fail internal testing, releases a dozen or so that go unnoticed, and ultimately only one or two succeed, such as Delta Force.

Therefore, Zhang Yiming ultimately chose to give up and focus solely on selling traffic.
Moonton could not beat HOK. But is still the leader in SEA. ByteDance relied on acquisition without any throwing a wide net and it failed.
 

proelite

Senior Member
So with Trump thinking about forcing the sale of Epic shares by Tencent, I think UE5 will eventually be export controlled and after that Chinese games be banned or tariffed.

Might be time to start thinking about making a proprietary rendering engine, with genAI built in at inception.
 

Eventine

Senior Member
Registered Member
So with Trump thinking about forcing the sale of Epic shares by Tencent, I think UE5 will eventually be export controlled and after that Chinese games be banned or tariffed.

Might be time to start thinking about making a proprietary rendering engine, with genAI built in at inception.
Any move that Trump makes here will ultimately prove to be beneficial to the Chinese gaming industry and detrimental to the US gaming industry. China should ironically welcome any US attempts at forcing divestment since it means Chinese companies can then focus their money at home, where it will be used to further fuel the rapidly rising Chinese game industry. Naturally, the Chinese government should also implement policies in support of the Chinese gaming industry, such as relaxing the current process of licensing for domestic companies and reducing censorship.

I know many people think that, if the US bans Chinese companies and/or games, China's response should be retaliation in kind. But it's actually counter intuitive - the more the US bans Chinese investment, the more China should welcome foreign investment (those of a purely financial nature - no controlling shares). Because the contest here is for global market share, and as long as those companies, their talent, and their money are in China (and they should not be allowed to move to Singapore, etc.), it will secure China's long-term dominance of the gaming industry and the marginalization of the US industry.
 

bsdnf

Senior Member
Registered Member
So with Trump thinking about forcing the sale of Epic shares by Tencent, I think UE5 will eventually be export controlled and after that Chinese games be banned or tariffed.

Might be time to start thinking about making a proprietary rendering engine, with genAI built in at inception.
Then era of massive game piracy in China will return

What percentage of Steam users are from China again, 40%? If Steam was banned to use Alipay and WeChat Pay, a massive number of players would lose their willingness to pay and leave Steam.
 

BlackWindMnt

Major
Registered Member
So with Trump thinking about forcing the sale of Epic shares by Tencent, I think UE5 will eventually be export controlled and after that Chinese games be banned or tariffed.

Might be time to start thinking about making a proprietary rendering engine, with genAI built in at inception.
Less UE5 slop from Chinese studios yes please. Hope china will see an proprietary engine explosion in the coming decades. Just look at the most anticipated game at the moment crimson deserts. Their game engine is producing some awesome visuals the same can be said with where winds meer.
 

Aniah

Senior Member
Registered Member
Maybe it's time for the government to slap some sense into Tencent and force them to start developing a domestic engine again. They used to have their own engine, but it seems they gave up on it.

Edit: Seems like they are still developing their own engine after some research. They actually have two engines.

From DeepSeek:

"

CROS Self-Developed Engine​

This is Tencent's answer to building a foundational, proprietary game engine "base" .

  • What it is: Formally introduced in May 2023 as CrossEngine (CROS), this is a universal game engine developed over nearly three years to be a core, self-controlled technology for Tencent .
  • Core Purpose: It's designed for high-fidelity game creation and building digital "super digital scenes." It focuses on 3A-grade rendering, realistic visuals, and strong cross-platform performance .
  • Real-World Applications: The engine is already in use for impressive projects beyond just games:
    • Civil Aviation: Partnering with China Southern Airlines, it powers the first fully self-developed visual system for full-motion flight simulators, helping train pilots .
    • Cultural Heritage: It was used to create "Cloud Tour of the Great Wall," a high-fidelity digital recreation of the Great Wall of China .

✨ GiiNEX Game AI Engine​

Unveiled at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in 2024, GiiNEX represents Tencent's push to integrate generative AI directly into the development pipeline .

  • What it is: A generative AI engine designed to act as a powerful assistant for both professional developers and players .
  • Core Purpose: Its main goal is to dramatically boost efficiency in content creation. It supports the generation of 2D images, 3D scenes, animations, narratives, and even dialogue . The efficiency gains are significant—for instance, it can reduce the time to build a 3D city scene from days to just minutes .
  • Real-World Applications:
    • Game Development: Used in Tencent's own games like Yuanmeng Star to provide players with UGC (user-generated content) level design tools .
    • Game Testing: It also utilizes decision-making AI to help with game testing and simulating gameplay to speed up innovation .
In short, Tencent is investing heavily in proprietary engine technology. The CROS engine is their long-term strategic play for a high-end, versatile creation tool, while GiiNEX is their cutting-edge solution to integrate AI and supercharge the efficiency of the development process itself.
"
 
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Stealthflanker

Senior Member
Registered Member
Yeah a domestic game engine would be nice especially if they actually release it for public use. Typically i see CN games developed using Unity and recent one seems to go Unreal. current Gacha are largely Unity.
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Also, I feel really upset, as i mentioned earlier.. I play Snowbreak : Containment Zone. Right now the game is under indefinite maintenance. Apparently it got reported as extreme feminazis as a distraction from arrest of Jinjiang novelist which made gore content.

I sometime wonder why the environment are such an extreme especially for gaming. This is not the first time i hear such a case, and not just Snowbreak, Girls Frontline 2 suffered similar drama, and let's not forget the shipping cahracter wars.
 

Eventine

Senior Member
Registered Member
I think Chinese censorship is just in general heavy handed and arbitrary (based on who is doing the reporting). It doesn’t have to be this way and it also does constrain Chinese entertainment influence. I’d at least like to see consistency in doing the same to foreign games from Korea & Japan & West
 
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