ChinaJoy 2026 to showcase over 1,000 games, AI-powered experiences

The 23rd China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference (ChinaJoy 2026) will run from July 31 to Aug 3 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, featuring more than 1,000 game titles and showcasing the latest applications of artificial intelligence under the theme "Level Up with AI".

Super early-bird tickets will go on sale on July 8.

The expo will cover more than 140,000 square meters and has attracted nearly 900 exhibitors so far, including 275 foreign-funded companies.

Its interactive entertainment halls will span nearly 120,000 sq m and host more than 350 companies. The business-to-business halls will cover 25,000 sq m, with more than 500 exhibitors, of which 46.6 percent are foreign-funded companies.

More than 500 game companies and development teams will present over 1,000 titles at the venue, while more than 600 games have been registered for the ChinaJoy × Game Connection GAME Festival, an online showcase on Steam. Leading companies in technology, hardware, designer toys, and automobiles will showcase more than 1,000 products.

ChinaJoy will introduce an official main stage, which will host the finals of the Intel Master Challenge. Meanwhile, a new Vision Future frontier technology zone will showcase intelligent robots, large AI models, smart wearable devices, and other emerging technologies.

The ChinaJoy Next Play innovative game experience area will offer hands-on access to AI-powered non-player characters, interactive storytelling, and generative content.

ChinaJoy will upgrade its previous zone for Shanghai time-honored brands into a zone for popular Shanghai brands, combining local cultural heritage with youth-oriented trends to support local brand innovation.

This year, ChinaJoy will further strengthen integration among Shanghai's culture, commerce, tourism, sports, and exhibition sectors. The second Shanghai International Game and Animation Festival will be held during the summer vacation, featuring an upgraded "ACG Lifestyle Pass 2.0".

Activities will extend to major commercial districts across the city, as well as hotels and restaurants around the venue, with an ACG-themed float parade, ACG-decorated cars and boats, and more than 100 photo spots across Shanghai.

The second China International Game Developers Conference will be held from July 28 to 30, during which a trial version of Shanghai's service platform for helping online games expand overseas will be launched.

The events come as Shanghai's gaming industry continues to expand. The city's online gaming market generated 47.83 billion yuan ($7 billion) in sales revenue in the first quarter of 2026, up 17.22 percent year-on-year and marking its fifth consecutive quarter of quarter-on-quarter growth. Revenue from overseas markets reached a record 8.93 billion yuan, up 22.26 percent year-on-year.