Over 80,000 game companies were established in a year, and veterans from NetEase, ByteDance, and Alibaba have started their own businesses one after another.
In 2025, both the domestic gaming industry and the user base witnessed steady growth. As the market environment gradually stabilized, a wave of entrepreneurship seemed to be rising in the gaming industry.
Data from Qichacha shows that in 2025, over 80,000 gaming companies were established, representing an increase compared to over 50,000 in 2024 and over 60,000 in 2023. Excluding the newly - established subsidiaries of some old gaming companies, there was still a very large number of new companies.
Moreover, in 2025, many well - known game producers left their jobs to start their own businesses. For example, He Jia, the former technical director of miHoYo, Li Kaiming, the former producer of "Conquest of Elysium", Jin Tao, the former producer of "Onmyoji", and Chen Shaohao, the former producer of "New Dream of Zhu Xian", their moves attracted much attention.
Last year, some entrepreneurs told us that although the gaming market had entered a phase of stock competition, there were still opportunities. On the one hand, there were more outstanding talents in the job market, making it easier for startups to recruit. On the other hand, large companies were pursuing projects that could dominate the top of the market, leaving many market opportunities for new companies.
Entrepreneurship of Well - known Game People
Last year, a group of industry practitioners started their own businesses with the glory of blockbusters from large companies. These startups attracted a lot of attention even before their new products were launched. Many of these startups quietly received financing, which also reflects that even in the current investment environment, high - quality content providers are still in great demand.
Guangzhou Fenglan Game was established in January last year. Currently, the company has nearly 100 employees and is developing a hardcore space - themed SLG game called "Code: Space". As of December last year, the game had been in development for less than a year, but "Code: Space" is planned to conduct its first test in March. According to the description, players can equip ships with weapons, match captains, and fight against extraterrestrial civilizations in the game.
Qin Yuqing, the founder of Fenglan Game, was a member of the Gaia Studio of ByteDance's Zhipu Yuguang. He also participated in SLG projects such as "Conquest of Elysium" by NetEase and "Rise of Kingdoms" by Lilith. In addition, Dai Junyi, the former producer of the UGC project "JungoJam" under ByteDance's Guangzhou studio, joined Fenglan Game last year.
Fenglan Game also has a close relationship with Huayu Network, the developer of "Three Kingdoms: Strategize the World".
According to Qin Yuqing's statement on the official account, he lent all his savings in 2022 to "Three Kingdoms: Strategize the World" before it was taken over by Bilibili and had not been tested. In April last year, Fenglan Game received an investment from Huayu Network, with the latter holding a 10% stake. Recently, Fenglan Game also started recruiting for its distribution team. It is expected that the products to be distributed will include "Code: Space" from the Guangzhou team and a casual strategy MMO game from Hangzhou Huayu Network.
Chengdu Xiaozhi Youchuang: Its founder, Chen Shaohao, led the development and operation of games such as "Fantasy Westward Journey Online", "Fantasy Westward Journey Mobile", and "New Dream of Zhu Xian", with a total revenue of over 30 billion. In August last year, Chen Shaohao left the corporate structure of Chengdu Perfect Tianzhiyou, and Xiaozhi Youchuang was officially established in June of the same year.
In addition, Qichacha shows that this year, Xiaozhi Youchuang introduced a new shareholder, Beijing Ruyi Jingxiu. Currently, Beijing Ruyi Jingxiu holds a 45% stake, making it the largest shareholder, while Chen Shaohao holds a 40% stake.
It is reported that currently, the Xiaozhi Youchuang team has more than 300 members and is developing a second - generation open - world action game based on the UE5 engine. The core members of the team mainly come from projects such as "Genshin Impact", "Honkai: Star Rail", and "Nirvana on the Tide". Perfect World first exposed the project information of the second - generation open - world game "Code Z" in early 2024, and the last mention in the company's announcement was in May last year. It is speculated that the Xiaozhi Youchuang team is still promoting the development of the project.
Shanghai Mengshang Technology is the startup of He Jia, the former technical director and art director of miHoYo. It is understood that the team has received a round of financing.
After leaving miHoYo, He Jia worked at Tencent's TiMi Studio and Wuhan Yihua Kaitian successively. He left his job again the year before last to prepare for entrepreneurship. Shanghai Mengshang Technology was officially established in March last year. Its official website shows that it is an AI technology company focusing on AI games, AI virtual companions, AIGC and other businesses. Currently, there is no further news about Mengshang Technology.
Guangzhou Jiezi Information was jointly founded by Jin Tao, the former head of NetEase's Onmyoji Division, and "Master Yixiu", the former president of NetEase's Art and Design Center. The company was officially established in June last year and is reported to have received financing. In addition, Jiezi Interactive Entertainment has obtained the IP authorization of NetEase's "Onmyoji", and its first project may be similar to the previously proposed but unapproved "Code: Cloud Atlas".
Guangzhou Taiqi Digital was founded by Ding Dang (Zhan Zhonghui), the former head of Alibaba's gaming business. In the early years, Ding Dang held important positions such as the senior vice - president of NetEase's Online Game Division. He left NetEase in 2011 to establish Guangzhou Jianyue, which was acquired by Alibaba in 2017. Thereafter, Ding Dang served as the head of Lingxi Interactive Entertainment. He left Lingxi Interactive Entertainment in 2024 and chose to start a new business last year.
Guangzhou Taiqi was officially established in April last year. The company's senior executives, Liu Jiao and Chen Weian, also have a background at Alibaba. Currently, Guangzhou Taiqi is developing a single - player game using the UE4 engine, with the history of the Song Dynasty as the theme. In addition, Guangzhou Taiqi received an investment from Purple Dragon Games last year, with the latter holding a 30% stake.
Shenzhen Shuangmao Network is the corporate entity established by Liu Zijun and Yu Tian, the founders of Changyu Timespace. Previously, Changyu Timespace exposed its new work "Code: Flying Cards" in 2024, which was shown to be developed by Shuangmao Studio. Last year, Liu Zijun and Yu Tian left the corporate structure of Changyu Timespace. In addition, Atom Punk and NetEase invested in Changyu Timespace before, and now they each hold about 17% of the shares in Shuangmao Network.
"Code: Flying Cards" started its second - round test in September last year and has not been launched yet. In addition, Shuangmao Network exposed a new work "Code: Alien Planet" last year, which combines gameplay elements such as Roguelike, treasure - hunting, and mowing - style combat.
Shanghai Ken'en Network was established in March last year. Chen Zhangchi, the founder of the company, once served as the technical planning head of the "Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light" project team at NetEase and the technical planner of "Genshin Impact" at miHoYo. Currently, the Ken'en Network team has more than 20 members and is developing a cyber - punk - style ACT console game using the UE5 engine.
According to last year's reports, the startup of Chen Ge, the former lead planner of "Conquest of Elysium", announced in August last year that it had received an investment from South Korea's Nexus Company, which plans to launch a blockchain - based SLG. In addition, a startup called Guangzhou Shichen Workshop was established last year. Its founder is also named Chen Ge, and public information shows that it focuses on creating the next - generation interactive open experience and is recruiting talents related to the Euro - truck - simulator - style SLG. It is possible that it is the same company.
In addition, some game people have not revealed their plans after choosing to start a business. For example, Li Kaiming, the former producer of "Conquest of Elysium" at NetEase, issued a resignation letter last year, saying that he would "start a new entrepreneurial journey", but there is no news about his entrepreneurial progress for the time being.
After leaving large companies, most entrepreneurs either continue to pursue the vision of unfinished projects or choose to move towards areas with greater growth potential, such as AI and console games. With the endorsement of the industry, the startups of these well - known game people are still highly concerned by the industry, and many of them have quickly received financing support.
New Trends in the Gaming Industry
Considering the risks of entrepreneurship, most small - scale startups are more likely to be affected by market trends. Therefore, among the new players emerging in the past two years, many startups have targeted emerging areas such as AI, interactive movie - games, and mini - games, and there were still many new companies emerging last year.
For example, in the field of AI, there is a startup called Shanghai Pixel Nest Technology. Shanghai Pixel Nest Technology focuses on the innovation of AI - driven interactive virtual content and is committed to combining AI with game creation. Based on public information, it is speculated that the company plans to use AI assistance for script creation in visual novels and Galgames.
In the AI field, there is also an exploration of the romance theme. One of the startups trying this is Shanghai Lumi Network. Shanghai Lumi Network was founded by Cai Mao, the former COO of the female - oriented audio community Maoer FM. According to reports, Shanghai Lumi completed two rounds of financing last year, introducing shareholders ZhenFund and IDG Capital respectively, with the financing amount exceeding tens of millions of dollars and the company's valuation approaching 70 million dollars.
Shanghai Lumi is developing a butler - type AI boyfriend app called "Infinite Valley". Last year, it established a core team of more than 50 people in Chongqing and Shanghai, and the app started a seven - day test at the end of the year. In the app, players can ask the AI boyfriend to assist with schedule arrangements, wake - up alarms, etc., and also have real - time chat interactions with him and dress him up.
In addition, Cai Mao also established a company called Chongqing Apelen Network last year. The female - oriented game "Code: Sol" associated with it was first exposed at the end of last year, and the progress is quite rapid. The first exposure information of "Code: Sol" mentioned "a butler providing considerate service 24/7", which is similar to "Infinite Valley", but the 3D graphics obviously require more investment.
Shanghai Lianzhiyi Network also sees opportunities in romance - themed products. Currently, Shanghai Lianzhiyi Network is a subsidiary of Shanghai Banding Network. Banding Network was originally a company engaged in the trading of trendy products and later transformed to focus on the metaverse industry. After Banding Network established a new corporate entity in 2024, it launched a metaverse exploration project called "Qinchao Awakening". Romance games seem to have become the next area of focus.
Last year, Lianzhiyi Network exposed a 3D otome game project called "Parallel Love" (later, the social media account was renamed "Code: Prism"), and it obtained the license for "Prism" in September. Public information reveals that players can experience infinite - flow content and lightweight card - based battles in the game.
In addition, the business of Lianzhiyi Network also includes AI dynamic comic short - dramas and mini - games on apps, but there is no corresponding news exposure yet. Since "Oh No! I'm Surrounded by Beautiful Women" detonated the market, interactive movie - games have become a new direction for romance - themed games and also a business direction for some startups.
Beijing Lingwu Interactive Entertainment has several casual mini - games such as "Ace Gold Digger" and "Gold Digger Master" under its belt. Last year, it also registered the software copyright for the interactive movie - game product "Crush Girls: Interactive Play". "Crush Girls: Interactive Play" was tested overseas at the end of last year. According to the description, players play as an MCN tycoon in the game, interact with 28 characters, and experience real - time chat interactions.
Guangzhou Liuxuan Yingchuang also chose relatively lightweight interactive movie - game products. Its first game, "Choice Game: Face - Changing Revenge", was launched on the WeChat Mini - program platform last year, positioning itself as a "playable short drama". Players can experience romances with 5 heroines and unfold a plot of counter - attack and revenge in the game. The company said that it will adopt the IAA model for its early business and gradually transform to the IAP model.
If AI and interactive movie - games have attracted the attention of entrepreneurs outside the gaming industry, then SLG is a direction that