Three strategies for sustainable growth
Exploring overseas markets and strengthening long-term operating capability are becoming key priorities for many gaming companies.
Whether it's the differentiated performance of anime-style, SLG and FPS titles going overseas, the major publishers' granular cultivation of existing products, or the boost cross-platform interoperability is giving PC and console, all point to a shift in how the industry thinks about operation.
Drawing on Third Bridge's latest expert insights, this piece maps the current trends in the gaming industry across three dimensions: overseas expansion, operating models, and cross-platform interoperability.
1. Three directions for Chinese games going overseas: anime-style, SLG and FPS
Third Bridge experts expect overseas markets to remain the focus for China's gaming industry this year, with the domestic market slowing as penetration approaches saturation.
Third Bridge experts group the overseas push into three directions, each with a different structure: anime-style, SLG and FPS.
In anime-style games, competition is extremely intense and several titles have underperformed expectations. Whether a game can sustain long-term operation ultimately still comes down to continuous content updates and operating capability.
SLG remains one of the strongest categories for Chinese publishers competing overseas. Third Bridge experts say leading titles continue to contribute substantial revenue. That said, acceptance of different SLG gameplay styles varies markedly across overseas markets.
2. Evergreen games: slower new releases as publishers shift to more granular operation
Alongside the overseas push, the other core trend Third Bridge experts observe is an industry-wide shift towards evergreen games. With development costs for new games running high, development cycles lengthening, and considerable uncertainty around hits making new releases risky, the major publishers are moving from chasing new products towards granular, long-term operation of existing ones.
Third Bridge experts note that content-led MMOs and RPGs, as well as competitive and social games, are all now being rolled out over the long term on a cadence of major version updates, extending life cycles through continuous operation. Third Bridge experts stress that this is precisely where Chinese publishers are differentiated against foreign peers. Western majors excel at high-budget, industrialised AAA development, but in the current economic environment their heavy investment has led to repeated layoffs and declining reputations. Domestic publishers, by contrast, keep improving their standards in monetisation, evergreen titles and games as a service, and their momentum is stronger as a result.
3. Cross-platform interoperability: shared servers across PC and mobile, with console and PC experience recovering
The other trend running in parallel with premiumisation and evergreen operation is cross-platform interoperability, where players use a single account and share the same progress across mobile, PC and even console, switching seamlessly between them.
This strategy has driven a clear recovery on PC and console. Third Bridge experts believe cross-platform interoperability has become a shared direction for both anime-style open-world games and competitive shooters, which in turn is lifting overall momentum for client-based and PC games.
All insights in this article are based on information provided by Third Bridge experts.
For media enquiries, please contact: comms@thirdbridge.com
Transcript references:
2. 2026/03/12 China’s Gaming Industry 2026 Outlook – Tencent, NetEase & Century Huatong Focus (Conducted in Mandarin)
4. 2026/01/06 China’s Gaming Industry Opportunity Insights – Part 1 – 2026 Core Trend Outlook (Conducted in Mandarin)
This analysis is also available in Chinese via Third Bridge's WeChat account.
