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Nick Poole is CEO of UKIE.
Whereas I hate to burst the romantic perfect, the ‘Silk Highway’ was by no means actually a street. The expression describes a fancy community of commerce routes connecting China and Europe by means of the Center East and Constantinople beginning within the 2nd Century BCE.
Importantly, the Silk Highway labored on the precept of reciprocity – that Chinese language and European markets every provide issues of worth to the opposite, that are scarce or unavailable again house.
I had loads of time to mirror on all this on my solution to Shanghai final week to help the joint Ukie/Division for Enterprise, Innovation, Science and Expertise (DBIST) Commerce Mission to ChinaJoy with a side-quest to the unbelievable Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai.
Key elements
In my conferences with Chinese language officers and business leaders, one factor turned abundantly clear – there’s a enormous urge for food for reciprocal commerce between China’s world-leading video video games market and UK studios, publishers and repair suppliers.
What’s equally clear is that this isn’t so simple as rocking up in considered one of China’s main cities and asking if anybody needs to purchase a recreation. UK companies desirous to promote into the Chinese language market want three important elements – a method, time and good companions ‘on the bottom’ who perceive native distribution channels and may help navigate China’s publishing and ISBN requirement.
Executed proper, although, accessing China’s home market of 683m gamers with an estimated annual spend of $50bn can rework the fortunes of a Western video games firm. Within the phrases of 1 UK business chief “if we will entry even a distinct segment of a distinct segment within the Chinese language market, it is going to fund the remainder of the studio this 12 months”.
For his or her half, there’s very important curiosity amongst Chinese language video video games corporations in constructing commerce relationships with the West. Many see the institution of commerce hyperlinks with Western video games markets as a way to promote video games which can not have an viewers in China.
Within the phrases of 1 UK business chief “if we will entry even a distinct segment of a distinct segment within the Chinese language market, it is going to fund the remainder of the studio this 12 months”.
For Chinese language corporations, the UK gives deep experience in IP creation, improvement and publishing, alongside inventive expertise and expertise in reaching world audiences – creating alternatives for partnership, co-development and cultural alternate.
One speaker at Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai spoke about UK-Chinese language relationships primarily based extra on inventive imaginative and prescient than pure commerce – as they put it: “pursuing the inventive imaginative and prescient in video games, not simply as a client product however a inventive expression that carries heat and humanity”.
Wandering across the glorious Indie Showcase at PCG Summit Shanghai I felt precisely the identical ardour, creativity and ambition that I get from Devcom or Develop.
Frictionless ‘Silk Highway’
Nonetheless, all this goodwill needs to be tempered by actuality. Many Western builders desirous to promote into or work with the Chinese language market discover themselves annoyed by commerce frictions – whether or not within the type of the mandatory barcode, content material controls, probably relinquishing their IP or solely having the ability to work by means of an area middleman.
If we’re going to set up a really frictionless ‘Silk Highway for video games’, now we have to work with our political stakeholders to recognise the particular wants of our business in commerce negotiations between the UK and Chinese language Governments.
Ukie was proud to carry 24 nice UK video games companies to ChinaJoy in partnership with DBIST this 12 months – starting from indie darlings Oxalis Video games to powerhouses like Kepler Interactive, Playstack and Curve Video games.
We’re totting up the enterprise wins, but when my WeChat is something to go by, all of us got here again with a full roster of latest companions and relationships to develop within the coming months.
We’re contemplating methods to assist UK corporations desirous to do enterprise in China and the way we will start to arrange long-term relationships with key gamers within the Chinese language market. If we will get it proper, I believe there is a chance to construct a mutually-beneficial connection between our ecosystems that can final for many years to return.
Picture credit: Copyright @ Division for Enterprise, Science, Innovation and Expertise (DBIST) 2026.