At the Face to Face meeting of the Magic Crystal, Blizzard announced that the official server of World of Warcraft (WOW) in China will be back on August 1, and the data package ‘Heart of Azeroth’ will be launched globally on August 27.

The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) issued the approval status of domestic games in June of this year, with a total of 104 domestic games approved, slightly higher than April and May. The newly approved games include 92 mobile games and 12 cross-platform games.

As of the first half of this year, there were a total of 689 games approved in mainland China, of which 628 were domestic games and 61 were imported games.

Citi believes that the expected approval of 1200 to 1400 new games in mainland China is still on track this year, further ensuring the normalization of local game regulation and approval processes. The bank said this month's highlights to watch include Tencent's "Royal Chaos," NetEase's "Revelation" and three newly approved games under G-bits Network Technology. Compared to consumer-driven e-commerce demand, digital entertainment content still reflects a more stubborn revenue stream in defense.

Zhong Yin International released a research report stating that looking forward to the second half of the year, the launch of several highly anticipated games is expected to drive the game market to accelerate again.

Internet game-related companies:

NetEase - The game business has recovered since the second half of the year, and revenue is expected to grow 10% year-on-year. The main reason is the contribution of new games such as <> mobile game, the gradual fading of the effects of some PC game adjustments, and the return of Blizzard games.

Tencent: Zhong Yin International expects Tencent's game revenue to increase by 10% year-on-year in the second half of the year, mainly due to the increased revenue contribution of the <>(DNF mobile game), and the continuous improvement of overseas game operations and commercialization. Relying on leading gaming development and overseas expansion capabilities, Tencent is expected to maintain its leading position.

Bilibili-W: The mobile game business has recovered. After the pre-download of <> was launched, it ranked in the top three of the iOS free chart for three consecutive days, and ranked in the top five of the iOS best-selling chart on the first day of launch. It is expected to drive Bilibili's game revenue growth better than expected in the second half of the year.

XD INC: The self-developed idle gameplay <> has kept its position in the top ten of the iOS best-selling chart since it was launched on Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Chinese servers. It is expected to be a major incremental contribution to a performance in 2024. With a stable issue of domestic licenses and many blockbuster games in the summer, TapTap platform activity and revenue are expected to maintain rapid growth.

China Ruyi - On May 7, China Ruyi announced the acquisition of 100% equity of Beijing Youai Huyu Technology Co., Ltd. under ByteDance. The transaction price was RMB 259 million. At present, the core asset of Youai Huyu is <>.

Pop Mart (09992)- Its first self-developed mobile game "Dream Home" was officially launched on June 27.