ChinaTalk Podcast Summary: "China’s Gaming Landscape" (Feb 11, 2026)

Host: Jordan Schneider
Guest: Daniel Camilo (veteran of the Chinese games industry)
Theme: A deep dive into China’s rapidly evolving gaming industry, its global influence, creative trends, regulatory dynamics, and cultural impact. The episode explores marquee AAA titles, market forces, censorship, and the unique position games hold in China's cultural landscape.

Episode Overview

Jordan Schneider speaks with Daniel Camilo, a Portuguese game industry professional who’s spent over a decade in China, about the transformation of Chinese gaming. Discussions range from China’s journey into AAA game development to domestic vs. global audiences, the push and pull of censorship, and the prospects for Chinese games as tools of cultural "soft power."

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. From Mobile Domination to AAA Breakthroughs

• Historical Trajectory:
  Daniel outlines China’s climb from simple, commercializable 2D PC games and mobile games to sophisticated, high-investment AAA titles rivaling global studios.

  • Quote [01:16]:
    “The industry itself started doing the most straightforwardly commercializable... least technically difficult, maybe least capital intensive versions of game development... But now we're entering into a world where Chinese developers are taking big swings and having big hits.” — Jordan

• Market Evolution:

  • Mobile still dominates, but wealthier consumers and accessible hardware (PCs, consoles) have unlocked bigger, more technically demanding games.
  • Quote [12:04]:
    “We have a huge middle class in China... that can easily afford to have good desktop PCs, laptops or whatever in their homes, not even to mention gaming consoles.” — Daniel

2. Defining Titles: Genshin Impact, Black Myth: Wukong, WuChang: Fallen Feathers

• Genshin Impact as a Game-Changer:

  • Developed by MiHoYo, its success elevated perceptions of Chinese gaming internationally; blurred the line between "free-to-play" and "AAA."
  • Quote [03:39]:
    “Genshin Impact... really showed the ambition and the ability from Chinese developers to do something that really had not been seen from Chinese developers but also had not been seen in general on mobile from any developers really at that scale.” — Daniel
  • Fact [04:39]:
    Players spent $10 billion on Genshin Impact in 2025.

• Cultural Confidence in Game Design:

  • Black Myth: Wukong and WuChang: Fallen Feathers boldly foreground Chinese mythology, history, and aesthetics, marking a shift from previous hesitancy to “go full Chinese” in global titles.
  • Quote [07:31]:
    “Now the two biggest AAA hits... are very much both in their marketing, their aesthetic, their story, are kind of like Chinese culture loud and proud.” — Jordan

• Global Acceptance for Culturally Specific Games:

  • Good games transcend cultural unfamiliarity; global audiences adopted Black Myth despite little familiarity with the Monkey King legend.
  • Quote [10:32]:
    “It doesn't really matter... as long as the game is good. It can reach. That's what I think.” — Daniel

3. Tech, Tools, & Cost Dynamics

• Game Engines Lowering Barriers:

  • Emergence of Unity and Unreal Engine has catalyzed high-quality development by smaller Chinese teams.
  • Examples: Escape from Dukov (made by 3–5 developers, sold 4 million copies), Black Myth developed with Unreal Engine.
  • Quote [14:19]:
    “There's not a single major developer in China who is building their own game engine... It's very much streamlined.” — Daniel

• Speed and Ambition:

  • Black Myth: Wukong developed in just 2.5–3.5 years by a core team of 20–30, showcasing efficiency and ambition.

4. Censorship and Narrative Constraints

• Self-Censorship in Storytelling:

  • Example: WuChang’s forced narrative changes after backlash over historical figures being killable—sometimes responding not to authorities, but to vocal hyper-nationalist segments online.
  • Quote [20:52]:
    “They patched the game... so that some of those characters could not be killed anymore. Which actually actively changed the story... made the story kind of nonsensical... They preemptively self-censored the game through a patch.” — Daniel

• Limitations versus Other Media:

  • Games, due to their interactive focus, can sidestep some of the censorship problems of film/TV, making them more viable tools for global soft power.
  • Quote [26:12]:
    “Gaming is more likely to become the spearhead of... soft power... from China Much more than we could ever hope to see from movies or from music from China.” — Daniel

5. The “Liminal Space” of Steam in China

• Unofficial Channels for Cultural Expression:

  • The international version of Steam is widely used, giving Chinese gamers access to uncensored global (and local) games—a “magical limited space."
  • Quote [00:00/44:47]:
    “Games exist in this magical limited space because the Chinese government is like too scared to shut down Steam to piss off all the gamers.” — Jordan

• Practical Consequences:

  • Major international hits (Cyberpunk 2077, Stellar Blade) have found large audiences in China through Steam, even without formal licenses.
  • Developers abroad increasingly recognize China as a critical (if unofficial) market.

6. Globalization and Universality of Gaming

• China’s Gamers Are Cosmopolitan:

  • Chinese gamers are deeply familiar with Western and Japanese genres, and global gaming "languages" and tropes; this stands in contrast with more locally-focused consumption in film/music.
  • Quote [33:27]:
    “The gaming diet that most people have consumed basically from when they started gaming, is a global one, not a national one.” — Jordan

• Unique Tastes & "Planet China":

  • Noted quirks: FPS games are huge in China (unlike Japan), King of Fighters is unusually popular, and there are idiosyncratic genre preferences dating back to the '90s.

7. Looking Forward: Trends and Predictions (2025–2026)

• Upcoming Titles to Watch:

  • Phantom Blade 0 (PS5, PC): Predicted to be “the next big hit” with AAA hype and global appeal.
  • Free-to-play "anime-style" games are a burgeoning, crowded genre—Daniel suspects a shakeout is imminent as audiences get saturated.

• Genres & Monetization:

  • Overcrowding in anime-style free-to-play games will likely force diversification of genres and creative strategies among Chinese studios.
  • Quote [41:30]:
    “That little bubble in that genre will kind of implode very, very soon... But I think for gamers ultimately it will be a very good thing.” — Daniel

8. Notable Indie & Unusual Hits

• Karma: The Dark World:
  • Psychological horror set in 1984 East Germany—a rare, fully-voiced Chinese indie game notable for its critique of workplace culture and dark humor.
  • Quote [43:23]:
    “You can almost feel like the people who made that game... want to complain about this whole office culture work in China.” — Daniel
  • Quote [45:53]:
    “The game has a sense of humor that I never seen before in a Chinese game... It's hilariously, magnificently written.” — Daniel

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Steam and Censorship:
  “Games exist in this magical limited space because the Chinese government is like too scared to shut down Steam to piss off all the gamers.”
  — Jordan [00:00 / 44:47]

• On Transformation of Gaming Soft Power:
  “Gaming is more likely to become the spearhead of, of this kind of like soft power, cultural soft power from China Much more than we could ever hope to see from, from movies or from music from China.”
  — Daniel [26:12]

• On Narrative Constraints:
  “They preemptively self-censored the game through a patch... There was no real explicit demands from the government... This situation I think tainted a lot the perception that people have about Chinese games...”
  — Daniel [20:52]

• On Cultural Confidence:
  “Black Myth, Wukong and Wu Chang: Fallen Feathers... are kind of like Chinese culture loud and proud...”
  — Jordan [07:31]

• On Global Gaming Language:
  “The gaming diet that most people have consumed basically from when they started gaming, is a global one, not a national one...”
  — Jordan [33:27]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Chinese gaming's industrial rise: [01:16]
• Genshin Impact’s global impact: [03:39]
• Cultural confidence in AAA titles: [07:31]
• Black Myth: Wukong and global appeal: [10:32]
• Hardware & market development: [12:04]
• Game engine revolution: [14:19]
• WuChang controversies & censorship: [20:52]
• Soft power, games vs. film/TV: [26:12]
• Steam's unique status in China: [29:42], [44:47]
• Gaming as a universal language: [33:27]
• Quirks of the Chinese market: [35:07]
• Trends, predictions for 2026: [39:32]
• Karma: The Dark World spotlight: [42:52]

Conclusion & Final Thought

The episode draws a vivid portrait of a Chinese gaming industry both proud and pragmatic, balancing technical ambition, creative aspiration, and the omnipresent shadow of censorship. Despite systemic constraints, games offer an unprecedented avenue for Chinese global cultural influence, often outpacing film or music. The future promises further creative ferment, a shake-up in popular genres, and more uniquely Chinese voices—provided the “magical liminal space” of platforms like Steam endures.

For further reading, Daniel Camilo’s newsletter: [Gaming in China on Substack]
Hosted by Jordan Schneider — ChinaTalk newsletter