WeChat Mini-Games erzielen einen Umsatz von 50 Millionen Yuan ohne Umsatzbeteiligung und geben das Streben nach hohem Nutzerwachstum auf, um nun auf KI zu setzen.

Today (May 27), the 2026 WeChat Mini - game Developer Conference was held at the Baihuma Lake International Convention and Exhibition Center in Hangzhou. In the morning, Li Qing from the WeChat Mini - game team introduced the participants to the data changes over the past nine years.

First, let's look at the users. Due to the expansion in the female market, the number of female players has increased significantly. In WeChat Mini - games, men account for a little over 53%, while women reach over 47%. In terms of urban distribution, users from first - and second - tier cities exceed 45%, and those from third - tier cities and below account for over 55%, which is relatively balanced overall. In terms of age, people aged 24 to 40 make up half, and users over 40 account for 40%.

A notable change is that users are spending more time. Thanks to the continuous exploration of WeChat Mini - games in the social field, the average daily usage time of users is now over 60 minutes; the daily interactions with friends exceed 100 million; and more than half of the monthly active users actively access the games through the special functions of WeChat.

Now let's look at the development. After the acceleration of the approval process and the decentralized policies such as the incentive systems for revenue sharing in recent years, the total number of WeChat Mini - game developers has now reached over 500,000, with 80% of the teams having fewer than 30 people. The number of games with a daily active user count of over one million has increased from 60 last year to 80; and there are over 300 games with quarterly revenues of over 10 million yuan.

It is worth noting that both IAP and IAA are used in the policy incentives. New games released through IAP can benefit from a two - level incentive program. A new game can receive up to 50 million yuan in revenue without revenue sharing and up to 20 million yuan in incentive funds. IAA has also received new support policies. Based on a 50% cash payment, one can add 40% advertising fees (30 days) or 35% advertising fees (90 days), resulting in a maximum sharing of 90%.

In view of the changes in the Mini - game market and the emerging AI market, it can be said that the strengthened incentive policies indicate that WeChat Mini - games have entered a new exploration phase.

A direct example is that Li Qing said in an interview that although the monthly active user count of Mini - games is still at a high level, the room for further significant growth is limited. Considering the users of APP mobile games, the overall penetration rate of Chinese mobile game users is already very high, and the user growth of WeChat Mini - games is approaching the population limit.

The theme for 2026 is "Ecosystem Richness".

Rather than focusing on the increase from 500 million to 600 million users, Li Qing believes it is more important to improve the active structure, attract users more frequently, and explore structural growth opportunities in specific scenarios. In other words, in the future, WeChat Mini - games will not only aim to increase the total number but also to improve user engagement, extend the usage time, and strengthen scenario penetration. This is also the theme of WeChat Mini - games in 2026 - "Ecosystem Richness".

Another highlight of the conference was AI (60% of the questions in the interview were related to AI). The attitude of WeChat Mini - games towards AI is clear: This is not a future concept but a real tool that will be integrated into development, management, marketing, and content coupling. For example, Tencent Cloud's Workbuddy can support the entire chain from idea to implementation in development, from graphic design to level design, making fine - tuning easier.

Overall, 2026 may not be the year when the monthly active user count explodes, but it will definitely be the year with the most obvious changes.

IAA, IAP, PC - Three - legged Race

In 2026, the growth of WeChat Mini - games no longer depends on a single game category or a single breakthrough but on the simultaneous development of IAA, IAP, and PC. This is the key to ecosystem richness.

In IAA, the explosion of new categories such as "Arrow - like" and the continuous management of older products have led to the monthly active user count of IAA Mini - games reaching 400 million. Over 1,400 developers achieve monthly revenues of over one million yuan, and there are also frequently new games with monthly revenues in the millions. It has become an ideal platform where anyone can start and small and medium - sized developers can create jobs.

In contrast to traditional games, where young men are the main target group, the user clientele of WeChat IAA players has a unique profile. Official data shows that 70% of the users are aged 18 to 45, and the female ratio is 60%. The activity is significantly higher than in the traditional game market. In addition, IAA users are particularly willing to try new games. Each user plays an average of 7.5 games per month, which is far higher than the main market, where players focus on a single game. This habit of "multiple gaming and frequent switching" provides great room for creative experiments in light and medium - sized games.

Looking at the development of game categories, casual games have undergone a series of changes, such as the overlay of themes, the improvement of the 3D experience, and the redesign of the level mechanics. For example, the category of distance - removing games has continuously reached new highs, from traditional distance - removing games to screw - Mahjong - distance - removing games and then to the 3D distance - removing game boom.

The WeChat team predicts that with the support of AI, the following three categories have significant opportunities: First, creative single - player types (e.g., games with strong rules like Super Casual Competitions, which are suitable for the rapid creation of prototypes with natural language); second, material - dependent types (e.g., games like Find the Differences or Advertising, which are based on images or videos, where AI can produce high - quality materials cost - effectively); third, game - mechanics - improving types (combining classic game mechanics with inspiration from life).

In addition, IAA has received new policy support this year: Based on a 50% cash payment, one can add 40% advertising fees (30 days) or 35% advertising fees (90 days), resulting in a maximum sharing of 90%. There is also a new return policy: When re - engaging users who have been inactive for over 45 days, the incentive is the same as for new users. The LTV of returning users on the first day increases by over 20%, and for some games, the return consumption in one day exceeds 100,000 yuan.

In IAP, there is also a "balanced and diverse" situation. The data shows that the monthly active user count of IAP games accounts for 60% of the total market (about 300 million users), the average playing time per user has increased by 8% compared to last year, the average daily return of a game is 8 times, and the top products can reach 20 - 30 times. There are over 700 games with a monthly active user count of over one million and over 100 games with over five million.

Among these games, the medium - and heavy - duty categories (SLG, MMO) have stable revenues, and the revenues from card games have increased significantly; the casual track has a stronger upswing - the simulation management has an annual growth of over 200%, and the two - in - one games have a growth of over 70%. There are already 10 products in the casual category with monthly revenues in the millions.

The official side has given three references for future potential directions:

First, the overlay of classic game mechanics with IP. Some products have achieved monthly revenues of over 50 million yuan, and among new users, users outside the IP scene account for more than 50%.

Second, the "female power". The number of female paying users has increased by 20% per year, the ARPPU by 10%, and the retention rate 36 days after payment is 80% - 90%. The long - term re - engagement cycle can be extended to more than six months. Even in heavier categories like SLG and MMO, the number of female paying users has increased significantly.

Third, the creative fusion of game mechanics (e.g., Roguelike + Autochess, Board game + Card game). There are already several new products with monthly revenues of over ten million yuan. In safe categories like Placement, Card games, and Tower Defense, the historical registrations have reached 300 - 500 million, and the paying users are 10 - 20 million. There is still room for penetration; also in heavier areas like MOBA, FPS, and ARPG, some new categories are beginning to emerge.

Now let's look at WeChat PC Mini - games. They have evolved from an "external screen for mobile devices" to an independent ecosystem with its own characteristics. The data shows that the monthly active user count of PC Mini - games increased by 10% last year, with more than 40% being exclusive users (who only play on the PC). In user profiling, the core group...