Sean Guillory and Cogni-Chan
Introduction: China’s Rise in Gaming and America’s Brand Decline
In recent years, China’s gaming industry has matured into a global powerhouse. Titles such as Genshin Impact, Naraka Bladepoint, and Black Myth: Wukong are not simply commercially successful; they also showcase a cultural ambition that rivals or even surpasses that of their Japanese, European, and American competitors. When Black Myth: Wukong sold more than ten million copies in its first week and went on to win the 2024 Steam Game of the Year Award [1], it marked a turning point. Chinese studios, long dismissed as imitators, had firmly established themselves as peers, and in some ways leaders, in the global gaming industry.
This rise is no accident. It reflects government support for the industry, from national investment funds to regional incentives that nurture developers [1]. It is also the result of expanding markets, as Chinese-speaking players now make up more than half of Steam’s global user base [1&2]. Perhaps most importantly, it reflects strategic ambition: Beijing views gaming as not just entertainment, but as a driver of innovation and national power [3&15].
Meanwhile, America’s brand in gaming has faltered. Once synonymous with dominance and innovation, U.S. companies are now mired in regulatory uncertainty, culture wars over content moderation, and growing distrust abroad. Into this vacuum, Beijing has positioned Chinese games as aspirational, technologically advanced, and culturally resonant.
What makes this trend particularly significant is that games are more than entertainment. They are immersive environments where fiction and reality, identity and ideology, freedom and control blur. Chinese games leverage addictive mechanics, parasocial character design, and expansive digital worlds to foster intense emotional attachments. At the same time, they come bundled with invasive technologies, such as kernel-level anti-cheat systems, which grant root access to players’ devices [11]. In other words, these games are dual-use assets, combining psychological influence with technical infiltration.
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