ChinaJoy 2025: Global Innovation & Z2A Launch in the Chinese Market

ChinaJoy 2025 took over the Shanghai New International Expo Centre for its biggest edition yet. With over 410,000 visitors across four packed days and 700+ exhibitors from 37 countries, this year’s show not only raised the bar, but also set a new standard for the scale and ambition of gaming and tech events in Asia.

For us at Z2A Digital, ChinaJoy 2025 marked a defining milestone: our official entry into the APAC market. 

The Biggest ChinaJoy Ever

Walking through the halls of SNIEC was an experience in itself. Every corner offered something exciting, from PlayStation’s massive, temple-like booth packed with fans to Huawei’s AI-powered avatar creator that had visitors lining up to see themselves transformed in real-time. The company demonstrated their AI assistant Xiaoyi (Celia), which enhances gaming sessions by filtering incoming calls or messages and responding to player questions in real time. This was part of a broader push to highlight the HarmonyOS gaming ecosystem, which now includes over 6,500 games.

The exhibition space covered over 110,000 m², featuring 743 exhibitors, including 237 international companies, a major leap in scale and global engagement this year.

This year also introduced the Smart Entertainment Robot Area, where robotics companies showed cutting-edge integrations for both gaming and lifestyle applications. The emphasis was on how hardware and software could merge seamlessly for richer, more interactive experiences. At this zone, humanoid robots, including units from UBTECH, Zhiyuan Technology, and Unitree Robotics, engaged visitors in interactive demonstrations such as robot versus human soccer matches and other interesting displays.

The excitement wasn’t only about new game releases. Across the event, there were tools that made game design faster and platforms that helped companies use their advertising budgets more effectively. CreateAI presented both games, like Heroes of Jin Yong (a cinematic open-world RPG inspired by Chinese wuxia), and products such as “Breath of You” and “ACG Fans,” showing how technology and digital creativity are coming together.

The creator economy also took the spotlight, with panels and demos showing how influencers, AI content tools, and data-driven insights can accelerate brand reach both domestically and globally. For mobile UA brands, this translated into practical strategies such as working with established influencer communities to gain traction in new markets, creating and adapting campaign assets quickly for different regions, and using live campaign data to adjust targeting and messaging throughout the run.

Conversations That Mattered

If there was one consistent theme across the talks, it was the evolution of monetization and partnership models.

Brands and publishers here want partners who can deliver results they can measure. We heard it again and again: installs are good, but in-app actions, retention milestones, and LTV growth are what define success.

This emphasis reflects a broader industry shift from volume-based metrics to quality-driven KPIs, fueled by rising UA costs and increasing market saturation. With China’s massive user base and sophisticated audience targeting, advertisers must prioritize meaningful engagement over sheer scale. Leading companies like Tencent, ByteDance, and NetEase have been vocal about this shift during keynote sessions and panel discussions.

That’s why performance-based partnerships like CPA are gaining so much traction. They align marketing spend directly with user actions, reducing risk and rewarding efficiency. In a market as competitive as China, that alignment can be the difference between a good campaign and a breakout one.

This trend was mentioned in sessions like the “Performance-Driven UA” panel, where experts from leading Chinese publishers stressed that agility and data transparency underpin successful campaigns. Also, discussions highlighted how leveraging AI-driven attribution tools helps optimize spend in real-time, a necessity in this fast-moving ecosystem.

ChinaJoy 2025’s agenda also featured talks such as “Smart Monetization Strategies,” “The Future of Programmatic Advertising in Gaming,” and “Building Sustainable User Acquisition Pipelines”. These sessions dove deep into blending creative storytelling with data science to maximize LTV and retention. The “Navigating Regulatory Challenges” highlighted the critical need for local market knowledge, a topic frequently addressed by representatives from government advisory bodies and legal firms specializing in digital media.

Operational excellence also came up repeatedly in our discussions. Daily updates, shared dashboards, and proactive optimization were non-negotiable expectations. Here, communication speed and cultural fluency matter as much as the creative and technical execution.

For teams working across borders, this means not only speaking the same language but understanding the nuances of local market trends, regulatory shifts, and user behaviors. Our team plays a critical role here, enabling swift adaptation to ever-changing conditions and ensuring that campaigns stay on track and on target.

This cultural alignment is a major advantage for Z2A Digital, as it allows us to bridge expectations seamlessly between APAC advertisers/publishers and global markets.

Why China And Why Now?

Attending ChinaJoy 2025  was about taking a decisive step into one of the world’s most dynamic digital markets.

China’s advertising and publishing ecosystem is moving fast. The focus is shifting from just volume of installs to quality, retention, and ROI. Partners want clear results, openness, and a grasp of local details that can decide a campaign’s success or failure.

This aligns closely with how we work at Z2A Digital. Our performance-based user acquisition models prioritize actual results over simply spending budgets. We have experience in premium, complex channels such as DSP programmatic buys, rewarded video, and native ad formats. Plus, we make sure communication is smooth and campaigns stay culturally relevant.

This approach isn’t about coming in fast and scaling blindly. It’s about listening first, adapting campaigns to the market, and building partnerships that can scale sustainably.

From ChinaJoy to the Road Ahead

For Z2A Digital, this event was the launchpad for our APAC expansion. The meetings and connections we started in Shanghai are already leading to pilot campaigns and strategic collaborations.

ChinaJoy may be over for this year, but for us, the real work has just begun. As the industry welcomes a new era of growth led by bold innovators, we’re proud to be here, on the ground, building partnerships that deliver measurable impact.

If you’re a Chinese brand looking to enter Western markets, or a Western mobile developer seeking to tap into China, get in touch with us to explore how our team can help you access and grow in these markets.

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