China’s internet cafe industry experienced a major slowdown following COVID-19-induced lockdowns throughout 2020 and the first half of 2021. No new internet cafe games were reported during this period, leaving the market seemingly dormant. However, the pandemic was not the sole reason for this decline - it added to an already-unfolding, general slowdown trend.
Although there has been a modest rebound in new launches since the pandemic, internet cafes continue to face deeper, long-standing challenges, including a steady drop in new openings, shrinking revenues, and a decreasing number of café locations. The growing accessibility of smartphones and high-performance gaming PCs, coupled with improved internet infrastructure, has led many consumers to move away from internet cafes. Further, their role has gradually shifted from dedicated gaming hubs to more socially-oriented spaces. This Knowledge Brief explores what this shift means and the underlying opportunities associated with it.
Niko Knowledge Briefs are timely short-form topic reports written by Niko’s senior analysts using Niko’s proprietary data on Asia and MENA. Based on Niko's proprietary data and insights, we write and publish a new Knowledge Brief every two weeks. These short-form reports empower companies to access Niko's high-integrity data, insights, and research in a bite-sized format.
Although there has been a modest rebound in new launches since the pandemic, internet cafes continue to face deeper, long-standing challenges, including a steady drop in new openings, shrinking revenues, and a decreasing number of café locations. The growing accessibility of smartphones and high-performance gaming PCs, coupled with improved internet infrastructure, has led many consumers to move away from internet cafes. Further, their role has gradually shifted from dedicated gaming hubs to more socially-oriented spaces. This Knowledge Brief explores what this shift means and the underlying opportunities associated with it.
Niko Knowledge Briefs are timely short-form topic reports written by Niko’s senior analysts using Niko’s proprietary data on Asia and MENA. Based on Niko's proprietary data and insights, we write and publish a new Knowledge Brief every two weeks. These short-form reports empower companies to access Niko's high-integrity data, insights, and research in a bite-sized format.
Table of Contents
List of Exhibits- Number of Chinese Internet Cafes over years
- Total Launch Count in Chinese Internet Cafes
- Total Number of Esports Hotels in China
