Video games developed in China have captured the attention of a generation of players. The country has 684 million gamers, almost half the population, according to the China Game Industry Group Committee's China Game Industry Report for January–June 2026; and Chinese players now make up 23.6% of game platform Steam's global active user base.

They've played hit games like Black Myth: Wukong, games that have also traveled widely to reach international audiences, accruing more than $12.37 billion in overseas revenue in the first half of 2026. Ahead of the release of the Chinese-developed game Phantom Blade Zero, China Popcast meets game scholar Professor Liu Mengfei at the Homo Ludens Archive – a game archive and research center – at Beijing Normal University to talk about what happens when games travel, and what culture travels with them.

And, host Wendyl Martin – who is not a regular gamer – takes on a selection of landmark games drawn from the archive, spanning more than 30 years of Chinese video game history.