(Yicai Global) Sept. 7 -- Sales of online games independently developed by studios in Shanghai made up nearly 30 percent of China’s CNY296.5 billion in gaming revenue last year thanks to the strong performance of popular games such as Genshin Impact, according to a new report.

Shanghai’s online games sales tallied CNY125 billion (USD17.9 billion) in 2021, up 3.7 percent from the year before, of which sales of titles independently created by local developers contributed CNY82.7 billion, the report released by Gamma Data at a symposium in the city showed yesterday.

According to the Beijing-based agency, the total revenue of China’s gaming market last year increased by 6.4 percent annually to CNY296.5 billion.

Gamma Data pointed out that the popularity of Shanghai’s self-developed games increased rapidly overseas last year, with sales abroad surging 29.3 percent to USD3.9 billion. In addition, miHoYo’s Genshin Impact, Lilith Games’ Rise of Kingdoms and Warpath and other core products have formed an advantage in their respective categories.

In the first half of this year, Shanghai’s online game sales reached CNY62.8 billion, with CNY50 billion coming from the Chinese market and about USD2 billion from overseas, the report said.

Shanghai led the country for e-sports development. Revenues from the city’s e-sports industry are expected to reach CNY26.9 billion this year. Of this, about CNY6 billion (USD860.5 million) will come from e-sports matches, set to make up 46 percent of the national total.

Editor: Peter Thomas