Spice Mart Survey: Status of Game Brand Establishment by Distribution Companies and Licensors in the Chinese Game Market

Spice Mart Inc. has conducted a survey on the status of game brand establishment by distribution companies, licensors, and IP-related companies operating in the Chinese game market.

In recent years, there has been an increasing trend in Japan, Europe, and the US for IP holders such as publishers, video production companies, and character companies to establish their own game brands or game companies and enter the game industry. Based on these trends, this survey organizes similar cases and forms of game business entry other than brand establishment in the Chinese market and distributes it as a report to companies contracted with "LIVEOPSIS." This release introduces a portion of that report.

[Survey Overview]

Survey Target: Game brands of distribution companies and licensors operating in the Chinese mainland game market as of June 1, 2026.

Survey Content: Game brands of distribution companies and licensors operating in the Chinese game market, titles operated by these brands, and past achievements.

[Survey Summary]

- Synergy between Video Content and Games by Film/Video Companies

- Publishing/Novel IP Licensors Primarily Focusing on Licensing Out

- New Game Brands Emerging in Recent Years

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Spice Mart Survey | Key Features of Game Brand Establishment by Distribution Companies and Licensors in China

Synergy between Video Content and Games by Film/Video Companies

Around 2018, a trend emerged in China where film and video-related companies, after achieving significant success in the market, established their own game brands and utilized IPs from movies, dramas, and anime for their game businesses.

For example, China Film Group Corporation established the game brand "中影遊" (Zhongying You) in 2016 and has been proceeding with game adaptations utilizing its film distribution rights, licensing out to game companies, and collaborative developments.

Wanda Cinemas Games is characterized by its unique promotional methods, different from online strategies, by leveraging offline customer acquisition at movie theaters, membership systems, and pre-movie advertisements.

The game brand "iQiYi Game," established by the video platform "iQiYi," primarily employs a strategy of synergy between video and games, releasing games of the same name timed with the broadcast of its owned film and drama IPs, utilizing its traffic.

Publishing/Novel IP Licensors Primarily Focusing on Licensing Out

Chinese publishing and novel IP licensors tend to focus on licensing out to game companies rather than establishing their own game brands.

China Literature is a licensor that owns many IPs in the Chinese online novel market. The company does not own game studios and generally does not engage in game development or distribution. Its primary model involves providing game adaptation rights for its popular online novels to game companies like Tencent Group and NetEase Group, and receiving royalties and revenue sharing.

China's digital publishing company, COL (中文在線), focuses on releasing interactive story games for overseas markets through its subsidiaries, while for the domestic Chinese market, it licenses out to small and medium-sized game companies for release as WeChat Mini Games (H5 games).

New Game Brands Emerging in Recent Years

In recent years, there has also been a movement by companies with achievements in areas such as video production, short videos, and animation production to establish new game brands.

Enlight Media, the investor and distributor of the "Nezha" film series, which exceeded 15 billion yuan in domestic Chinese box office revenue, also holds the rights to the series. In April 2025, the company announced its intention to establish its own game company and develop AAA titles. In the same year, it established a subsidiary called "十月光線" (Shiyue Guangxian) in Beijing and began game development operations.

Kuaishou, China's second-largest short video app, officially entered the game market in 2021 by establishing the game brand "Spark Nexa." The company is also a distributor that invests in films, with representative works including the mobile game "無尽夢回" (Wujin Menghui), released in November 2024 (announced as service terminated).

In addition, there have been announcements of game market entries by animation production companies and character companies, such as Yihua Kaitian, which participated in the production of the anime version of the popular novel "The Three-Body Problem," and PopMart, whose character "Labubu" became a global hit.

About the Report

This release is an excerpt from the survey results. The report summarizes the background of entry and game development case studies for all companies surveyed (13 in total) and is distributed to companies contracted with Spice Mart's operational solution "LIVEOPSIS." Please contact us below for inquiries regarding "LIVEOPSIS."

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About Spice Mart Inc.

Spice Mart Inc. specializes in research and analysis focused on the smartphone game market, and also engages in business support and business matching utilizing IP licenses originating from Japan. As part of its research and analysis business, the company conducts research for global markets including Japan, China, South Korea, and the US, and provides research reports to members of its operational solution "LIVEOPSIS."

[Service List]

[Global IP Connect] https://liveopsis.com/collaboration

Game x IP Collaboration: One-stop support from proposing collaboration work candidates to contract procedures and production supervision.

[LIVEOPSIS] https://liveopsis.com/

A comprehensive data solution for smartphone game analysis and operation.

[LIVEBeauty] https://livebeauty.jp/

SNS marketing tool for beauty and cosmetics brands.

[Company Profile]

Company Name: Spice Mart Inc.

Representative: Masumi Kubo, Representative Director

Location: 1-11-2 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo BLOCKS EBISU 909

Established: July 2015

Business Activities:

1) Mobile game operation research business, primarily in Japan and East Asia.

2) Mobile game operation consulting business, primarily in Japan and East Asia.

3) Game collaboration brokerage business, handling a series of tasks including collaboration planning, negotiation, and supervision with Japanese IP holders.

URL: http://corp.spicemart.jp/

[Contact for Inquiries]

Public Relations: [email protected]

*We can respond in Japanese, English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), and Korean.