From the 20th to the 24th of this month, the annual Cologne International Game Exhibition in Germany once again ignited the enthusiasm of the global game industry.This exhibition not only set a new record of the number of exhibitors and national and regional participation, but also was called "China Time" in the industry due to the collective outbreak of Chinese game companies.

50 Chinese exhibitors have appeared on stage with hardcore works, among which Shanghai's power is particularly eye-catching: Eagle Corner Network's "Ark of Tomorrow: The End", Mihayou's "Genshin Impact", and paper-stacked game "Love and Deep Space" were jointly shortlisted for the "Best Mobile Game Award" with a high value, occupying 3 of the 5 seats nominated for the award, becoming the most popular "China Business Card" at the exhibition.This grand occasion marks that Chinese games are accelerating their transformation from the OEM label of "world factory" to a globally recognized "content creator", and Shanghai companies are undoubtedly the leader in this transformation.

China's power

The Cologne Game Exhibition is one of the largest gaming industry events in the world. It brings together world-class game manufacturers, developers and players, covering all-platform game content such as consoles, PCs, mobile and VR/AR.This year's exhibition gathered more than 1,500 exhibitors around the world, covering 72 countries and regions, making it the largest and most content-rich in the history of Cologne.

On the opening night of this globally renowned exhibition, Chinese games attracted the appetite of global players. Domestic games "group to play the rankings", Eagle Corner Network's "Ark of Tomorrow: The End", "Alien Ring", Tencent's "Cross Fire: Rainbow", "Glory World", and "Trigger of Destiny" were all unveiled.Among them, "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" debuted the finale, and the first CG trailer was released. It was on the global game hot search list as soon as it was released, continuing the phenomenon of the "Black Myth" series, and can be regarded as a perfect fusion of oriental aesthetics and game art.

Cologne Game Exhibition

Just like the stunning appearance on the opening night, Chinese games have now become an extremely dazzling existence in the global game chain.

"In recent years, at the Cologne Game Exhibition in Germany, in addition to the popular activities and updates continued by manufacturers such as Tencent and Yingjiao, we found that the quality and exhibition effect of Chinese games have been significantly improved, showing a trend from 'quantity participation' to 'qualitative breakthrough'." Pan Rong, head of the China Region of the Cologne International Game Exhibition, introduced that Chinese exhibitors hit a new high this year, and Tencent Games, Yingjiao, Mihayou, Xishanju Games, Mid-Paper Games, Game Science, Lingyoufang, Perfect World Games, and Hero Interactive Entertainment have all returned again.

I came to Cologne's Lingyou House "Shadow Blade Zero" again, providing overseas players with an hour-long trial version for the first time. The exhibition site has a 500-square-meter trial area and is equipped with 60 trial equipment, with an area of ​​5 times that of last year.On August 20, only media and professional audiences will be allowed to enter, and it will still take more than two hours to queue up for trial play.The on-site staff said that the game DEMO was very well displayed in Cologne last year. Many media anchors said that this is the best game they have played in the entire Cologne exhibition. They also received positive feedback in the offline trial event of 150 machines organized in China in July this year, which also gave them confidence to set up a large-scale booth in Cologne, and no booth shows or cosplay were arranged on the spot to provide experience to players around the world in a pure trial form.

Players are trying out "Shadow Blade Zero"

In recent years, the overall performance of Chinese game overseas exhibitions has shown the characteristics of "more and more manufacturers, more lively booths, and more and more heavy works".The appearances of many Chinese game manufacturers this year are refreshing, and the relevant booths are crowded with long queues, reflecting the continuous improvement of domestic games' global influence.These changes all show that the quality of Chinese games' works and market expectations have made a qualitative leap and have stood on the global stage.

According to the China Game Industry Report for the first half of 2025 released by the Game Working Committee of the China Audio and Digital Association, in the first half of this year, China's self-developed games overseas revenue was US$9.501 billion, a year-on-year increase of more than 11%, and is expected to exceed US$20 billion for the whole year.With the continuous expansion of the global game market, domestic games have shown strong strength in the competition in the global game market through precise grasp of the needs of overseas users in key markets such as the United States, Japan, South Korea, and emerging Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Shanghai style

Through the exhibition, the reporter observed that more and more Chinese manufacturers, especially Shanghai companies, are investing more resources to polish original content, forming a more internationally competitive visual style, narrative logic and gameplay mechanism.

"Mountains Outside the Mountain" booth

In independent games and new game exhibition areas, Qingpu Games' "Mountains Outside the Mountain" is an open world sandbox game scheduled to be released in 2027. The trailer was first exposed on Bilibili not long ago."The first offline debut at the Cologne Exhibition is to collect feedback from more professional players, peers and media." Shanghai Qingpu Network entrepreneurial partner Alex kept communicating with overseas players in front of the booth.The world view of "Shan Outside the Mountain" is rooted in the ancient Chinese book "Shan Hai Jing". The background is set in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. The core gameplay is "high interaction". The environment will deeply affect the survival of players in real time. "This is a game where survival pressure and leisure are parallel. I hope that players can have a long-term fun experience in this world, and are willing to stare blankly for two or three hours to see the scenery in the game."

The booth of Eagle Corner Network's "Ark of Tomorrow: End" became one of the focus of the audience. The booth cleverly incorporated the elements in the game into it, as if it was entering the world of Tower Boat, which is full of crisis but full of hope in the game.The layout of the surrounding environment, from the barren and magnificent alien landform to the futuristic industrial facilities, highly restores the scenes in the game, allowing players to instantly immerse themselves in the unique world view of "Ark of Tomorrow: The End".The game's promotional videos are played looping on the huge screen, showing smooth character movements and cool combat effects, attracting past players to stop and watch."Ark of Tomorrow: The End" booth

On the opening night, the new character of blonde red hood appeared in the latest trailer released by Ark of Tomorrow: The End sparked heated discussions among players around the world.The new PV maintains the consistent high-level art style and mysterious industrial aesthetics of Eagle Corner. The camera shuttles between the deserted alien stars and advanced industrial facilities, and the new scenes and new characters displayed make the player community boil instantly.The live interaction and trial area attracts many overseas players to participate.Ferran is from Barcelona, ​​Spain and is also an independent game maker. When talking about the trial experience, he praised it. "I experienced the first two levels. The game mechanism and combat experience are very good, especially in the boss battle, not only playing, but also having a kind of thinking and strategy. The image, scene, and art design are very good."

"I have played "Ark of Tomorrow" before. I heard that there are new works in Cologne to try them out. The booth location and design are very good, with a 'end' feature." German player Hannes also paid attention to the combat system of "Ark of Tomorrow: The End" "The operation feels strong and passionate in fighting. I have had a lot of fun!" Time is limited, and he failed to experience the Chinese style chapter, but with years of gaming experience, he guessed that this is a Chinese game. "The card drawing game is the best in China. I have played a lot of them, and I also look forward to more innovative works."

Mihayou, another Shanghai game leader, which is also popular at the booth, has participated in the exhibition for five consecutive years.The relevant person in charge of the booth said that on this global platform, Mihayou has always conducted exchanges and learning with global game manufacturers with an open mind, adhered to the strategy of "original IP quality + long-term operation" and continued to maintain the competitiveness of the products.On the one hand, we will strengthen the polishing of original IP, constantly refresh the player's gaming experience with exciting stories and plots, and build competitive barriers with content-driven.On the other hand, we will continue to deepen our technological research and development capabilities and strive to provide players with a better gaming experience.At present, Mihayou has built an industry-leading content production industrialization system, which can continuously and efficiently produce high-quality content.

Paper stacking game booth

At the paper-folding game booth, players can try out the latest version of "Danqing Season" of "Infinite Nuannuan". This version is themed "Danqing", and players can experience "Riding a Dragon" in this version."Love and Deep Space" under Duanzhi Games participated in Cologne for the first time, and this time it was nominated for the Best Mobile Game of the Cologne Game Exhibition. This is the first time in history that a female-oriented love game was nominated for the Best Mobile Game at the Cologne Exhibition and won the award."Love and Deep Space" producer Li Zi said, "For a long time, love games were actually not considered mainstream game categories, and now they are liked by more and more users. This nomination is also an encouragement for the continued deepening of their peers in this category." According to sensor tower data, as of June 8, 2025, "Love and Deep Space"'s cumulative global revenue reached US$650 million, and its overseas market revenue share continued to increase, surpassing the Chinese iOS market in May to reach 52%.At the scene, many overseas players checked in to interactive booths and gathered to exchange "free" materials, which confirmed their influence.A player who came from the United States said that he only started playing "Love and Deep Sky" in April this year and is now at full level.“I like its casualness and companionship.”

Cultural confidence

At this year's Cologne Exhibition, next door to Mihayou's "Genshin Impact" and other papers are "Infinite Warm" and "Love and Deep Space". Walking forward, you will enter the martial arts world of "Shadow Blade Zero".Several popular Chinese games with different types and unique characteristics are gathered in one venue and located on the same line. This is not only a coincidence, but also allows people to see the richness and diversity of Chinese games."Many years ago, Chinese game manufacturers came to Cologne as buyers, but now they have become sellers." In the view of industry insiders, participating in Cologne is like holding a preview of a movie, gaining the opportunity to meet and communicate with professional players and overseas media. The original self-developed content of Chinese games is becoming stronger and stronger, and it is becoming the focus of overseas game exhibitions.

Mihayou booth

"From the recent trends, the presence of Chinese manufacturers at the Cologne Game Exhibition has transitioned from 'exhibition group appearance' to 'full participation in multiple tracks': on the one hand, the head has its own global operation and brand voice; on the other hand, the systematic layout of distribution, independence and tool chain companies in the business district and developer ecosystem. Taking 2024 as an example, overseas media have also specifically reported on the queuing enthusiasm and globalization ambitions of Chinese exhibitors and Chinese games." Pan Rong believes that nowadays, Chinese manufacturers are also more international in their exhibition strategies, and have shown more mature external communication awareness and market adaptability from booth design, on-site interaction to promotional language and media cooperation.This makes them no longer just "displayers" on the international stage, but become "contenders" who can side by side with major European and American manufacturers and Japanese companies.

"Shadow Blade Zero" is one of the most representative works of Chinese culture at this Cologne Game Exhibition. The game is centered on Chinese martial arts. All moves are captured by martial arts masters, and they combine speed, strength and the beauty of kung fu.It not only demonstrates the technical strength of the Chinese team in the field of 3A action games, but also conveys the spirit of martial arts to players around the world through stories and worldviews.The reporter tried the spot and found that "Shadow Blade Zero" has a distinct martial arts aesthetic style, and every move of the characters has the flavor of a hardcore kung fu film. Even the letter props and texts scattered on the map were invited to be written by professional calligraphers, and each ink trace is clearly visible.However, will these typical Chinese elements become an obstacle to overseas transmission?"Chinese elements are not obstacles, but characteristics." said the on-site staff.Games are an art of fantasy, and everyone wants to experience fantasy from different cultures.In the eyes of industry insiders, the trailer for "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" has once again made players around the world crazy because it allows the whole world to see a brand new set of things."The first time I played a kung fu game like a movie" is also the reason why "Shadow Blade Zero" can attract many overseas players to look forward to it."We will announce the release time at the right time this year. Now, domestic entrepreneurs have a consensus that the various cultural and technological products we have made have reached the highest quality in the world, and we are proud of this."

Players line up to experience "Ark of Tomorrow: End"

"One of the greatest value of the Cologne Game Exhibition is that it allows us to communicate with the world's best manufacturers. During the exhibition, we will pay great attention to cutting-edge product ideas and technical trends. This comparison and learning itself are an important source of inspiration." Dong Xiao, secretary of the Party Branch of Shanghai Yingjiao Network, said that overseas colleagues have many experiences worth learning, but at the same time, Yingjiao has always insisted on maintaining the unique style of its own works - whether it is art aesthetics, world view construction, or core gameplay, they all hope to convey clear differentiation, so that players can recognize "this is our work" at a glance."In the future, we will focus on technological innovation and expand the boundaries of games, so that games are not only entertainment products, but also communication carriers across regions. We are not only constantly absorbing the advanced experience of our global peers, but also insisting on exploring our own paths, so that technology and creativity can jointly drive future breakthroughs."

The outstanding performance at the Cologne Game Exhibition is not only a concentrated display of the "hard power" of China's game industry, but also a vivid footnote to the "soft power" of Chinese culture.From imitation and running to original leadership, from domestic development to global competition, Chinese games are writing a new chapter in character transformation on the global stage with the attitude of "content as king".The Chinese game power represented by Shanghai companies continues to promote the leap from "going out to the sea" to "heart-to-heart" with its leading technical capabilities and an accurate global perspective, allowing the world to understand Chinese stories and feel the charm of China in the virtual world.