[Edaily Reporter An Yu-ri ] Chinese game companies are taking bold steps to target the South Korean market. They are on a roll, filling large exhibition halls with their own intellectual property (IP) and attracting tens of thousands of users. While they previously expanded their influence relatively quietly through equity investments in South Korean game companies or IP and publishing partnerships, they are now directly targeting South Korean users.

◇Chinese Game IPs Pack KINTEX

On the 5th, at KINTEX Hall 2 in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, game fans flocked to Halls 7 and 8 and the outdoor plaza at the rear of the venue to attend “HoYoLand 2026,” organized by Chinese game developer HoYoVerse. Over 34,000 people visited the event over the four days from the 2nd to the 5th.

The event centered on five of Hoyoverse’s proprietary IPs, featuring everything from merchandise sales to cosplay shows and user-participation programs. Headlined by the globally popular “Genshin Impact,” the lineup also included “Honkai: Star Rail” and “Genres Zone Zero.”

One male fan interviewed at the venue said, “It took two hours just to get into some of the experience booths,” adding, “There were way more people than I expected.” A gaming industry insider remarked, “I’m not sure how many domestic game companies could fill an exhibition hall of this scale with their own IP,” calling it “remarkable popularity.”

The popularity of Chinese games in Korea is also evident in the mobile gaming market. According to the August mobile game revenue rankings released by Mobile Index last September, five of the top 10 games—half of the list—were developed by Chinese companies. This marks an increase of two titles from the three recorded in the same month last year.

Growth is also steep in the global market. According to Sensor Tower, 38 of the top 100 global mobile game publishers by revenue in August were Chinese companies. Their combined revenue totaled $2.2 billion, accounting for 41.8% of the total. This represents an increase of approximately 7.8% compared to the same month last year. The number of companies also rose from 32 to 38.

At this year’s Gamescom in Germany, Chinese games also secured spots among the major award winners. The number of participating Chinese game and gaming-related companies reached 60, marking the largest delegation in the event’s history.

The number of domestically listed game companies with Chinese investment has also increased over the long term. The number of listed game companies with Chinese investment, which stood at five in 2016, rose to seven by the end of last year.

However, investment strategies have shifted over the past decade. While acquisitions of management control or the securing of large equity stakes were prominent in the past, recent trends show a focus on selecting companies with IPs that have proven commercial potential and those offering business synergies.

◇Focusing Exclusively on Promising IP

Recent cases involving Wemade Co., Ltd. and Netmarble Corporation are prime examples.

On June 30, Wemade Co., Ltd. founder and Chairman Park Kwan-ho signed an agreement to sell his 39.33% stake to the Chinese investment platform Neopulse for 920 billion won. It was later revealed that Chinese game company Kingnet and others had joined the investor consortium. Once the transaction is finalized, the consortium will secure a 40.25% stake in Wemade Co., Ltd.—including its existing holdings—and become the largest shareholder.

Kingnet is a company that has long been in dispute with Wemade Co., Ltd. over royalties for the “Mir” IP. With this investment, it is seeking to expand the “Mir” IP’s business in China and secure an exclusive license. In effect, it is investing enough capital to secure management control over an IP that has been proven successful in the Chinese market.

Conversely, Tencent has recovered a significant portion of the funds it had tied up in Netmarble Corporation. Han River Investment, a Tencent affiliate, agreed last August to sell 13.41% of its 18.11% stake in Netmarble Corporation to Netmarble Corporation Chairman Jun-hyuk Bang and completed the transfer last month. As a result, Tencent’s stake has dropped to 4.70%, and it has fallen from the second-largest shareholder to the fourth-largest.

The industry views this as a move by Chinese gaming capital toward “selection and concentration.” Rather than holding stakes in all domestic game companies for the long term, this approach involves maintaining necessary strategic relationships while concentrating funds on IPs with proven business viability.

Kim Ki-heon, Director of the Beijing Business Center at the Korea Creative Content Agency, stated, “It seems games no longer have a nationality,” adding, “While it is important to assess the competitiveness of Korean and Chinese games, the criteria for determining how to view and distinguish the nationality of games themselves have also become more complex.”