China Accounts For 40% Western & Japanese Games Sales, Says Phantom Blade Zero Dev

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Obaid Ur Rehman

At Tech4Gamers, I mainly cover new gaming news, leaks, and rumours. Aside from that, I love to write features about my favourite games while inserting my opinion about their different aspects. 

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The video games industry is gigantic, and it seems like the industry is dominated by Behemoths from Western and Japanese developers/publishers. While that is somewhat true, Eastern gaming is on the rise. 

China and Korea are both doing well with their recent releases, so we might see a sudden shift in their position. That said, the art director of Phantom Blade Zero recently revealed that China was into gaming long before Black Myth: Wukong came out. 

This title only managed to ignite the spark, but even before that, 30-40% of the Western and Japanese games sales came from China. 

Why it matters: China has over 1.4 billion people, making it the second-largest country in terms of population. While accounting for 40% of game sales is surprising, it is quite possible. 

Chang, the art director of Phantom Blade Zero, reveals in an interview with 4Gamer that even before Black Myth: Wukong, China was heavily involved in gaming. Of course, this game played a massive role, but as per Chang, China was already accounting for around 40% of sales for Western and Japanese games.  

Even before Black Myth: Wukong came out, 30-40% of the sales of most major Japanese and Western games came from China.

-Chang

Phantom Blade Zero’s art director further reveals that this percentage was consistent, regardless of whether the game had a Chinese theme. He gave games like Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, Palworld, and Needy Girl Overdose as examples. 

It’s a clear fact that China consistently accounts for at least 30-40% of sales.

So, even though China doesn’t have much experience when it comes to developing console or single-player PC games, it has been in the gaming industry for a long time. Also, it has a plethora of experience with mobile games, so that experience is definitely going to come in handy. 

Not to mention Black Myth: Wukong has done wonders for the country, so more and more games are going to come out, and fans will be anticipating them.

What do you think of China accounting for 40% of Western and Japanese games? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or join the Tech4Gamers’ official forums. 

Obaid Ur Rehman

[News Editor]

Obaid is pursuing a Law degree while working as a content writer. He has worked as a gaming writer for over three years because of his passion for the medium and reporting the latest updates in the industry. Having played hundreds of games, Obaid finds himself coming back to Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and Red Dead Redemption 2, with these games being among his favorites. He has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as Wccftech, Metro UK, PS Lifestyle, GamePressure, VGC, and Gamespot.