ChinaJoy Highlights Growing Appetite for UK–China Games Partnerships

Alliotts’ Games sector team attends ChinaJoy in Shanghai as part of the Ukie and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology (DBIST) Trade Mission.

I was delighted to join Sarah Messruther, Tax Specialist and a key member of Alliotts’ Games sector team, at ChinaJoy in Shanghai as part of the Ukie and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology (DBIST) Trade Mission. Ukie brought 24 UK games businesses to China, and over three days we met with Chinese developers, publishers and industry leaders.

As Head of the Alliotts China Desk, it was particularly interesting to see the appetite for closer relationships between the UK and Chinese games industries.

For Chinese companies, the UK offers established expertise in IP creation, games development and publishing, as well as creative talent with experience of reaching global audiences. This presents opportunities for partnership, co-development and cultural exchange.

For UK companies, the scale of the Chinese market is hard to ignore. China has around 683 million players and estimated annual spending of $50 billion, so establishing a successful presence there can have a significant impact on a games business.

We also saw growing interest from Chinese games companies looking West. International markets can provide new audiences for Chinese-developed games, including titles that may have more limited opportunities domestically.

For UK businesses looking to enter China, three things are essential: a clear strategy, sufficient time and trusted partners on the ground. The right local partners can help businesses understand distribution channels, identify opportunities and navigate publishing and regulatory requirements.

My main takeaway from ChinaJoy was the appetite on both sides for greater collaboration. There is a real opportunity for UK and Chinese games businesses to build lasting commercial relationships and benefit from each other’s expertise, creativity and markets.

I look forward to continuing the conversations with Chinese games companies and various industry leaders that we started at ChinaJoy.

Alliotts’ unique service offering

With our China Desk, games sector expertise and access to local professional advice in China through Alliott Global Alliance we are ideally placed to be able to help UK games businesses looking to explore the Chinese market.

As inward investment specialists, we have extensive experience of assisting Chinese companies enter the UK market.

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