By Wu Siya

BEIJING, July. 4 (China Economic Net) –Which monkey was the most popular worldwide in 2024? Most of us will throw the sight upon to protagonist the Destined One in China's first triple-A video game masterpiece, Black Myth: Wukong. In just two days, the game has sold 8.4 million units on Steam with an estimated gross revenue of 405.2 million U.S. dollars, according to VG Insights.

International E-sports Development Forum [Photo/GDEC]

By a series of innovative expressions, e-sports is allowing Chinese stories to go global in a way that young people enjoy. What kind of sparks could be created by the deep integration of e-sports and the digital economy? More than 400 global guests, including government representatives from 40 countries, international organization leaders, industry giants, experts and scholars, had a fruitful discussion at the International E-sports Development Forum which just concluded.

Spiridon Pantos, President of the IEC Global HQ [Photo/GDEC]

"Esports is reshaping the boundaries of entertainment, sports and technology, providing equal opportunities for marginalized groups in particular, and is a viral force in promoting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," praised Irina Bokova, former Director-General of UNESCO, in a video speech.

"What is the Digital Silk Road of Esports? Through next-generation technologies such as AR, VR, and XR, the development of the global Digital Silk Road in the field of esports could be comprehensively promoted. So, what can the International Esports Committee do on this road? The IEC-Beijing Joint Working Group will sign a relevant MoU in the fourth quarter of 2025 or the first quarter of 2026 to showcase breakthroughs in the Chinese esports laboratory with the most advanced technology," Spiridon Pantos, President of the International Esports Committee (IEC) Global HQ, emphasized in his keynote speech.

The President added that the IEC headquarters will also officially launch the National E-Sports Fund, together with its Chinese Committee and the UNESCO, to provide portable gaming laptop kits for e-sports enthusiasts from remote areas with financial difficulties. Also, it will open AI laboratories in cities such as Beijing and Nairobi to help young e-sporters from all over the world obtain all-round technical guidance. "As we all know, China will certainly rely on its global leadership in the field of digital technology to promote the common progress of all mankind."

Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Harry Theoharis, praised e-sports as "a new link between Eastern and Western civilizations" and especially praised the achievements of China-EU cooperation-the digital integration of Dunhuang murals and Greek mythology has created a market value of billions of euros. He looks forward to developing more e-sports IPs that integrate Eastern and Western cultures, making e-sports a global engine for mutual learning between civilizations and economic integration.

During the forum, the Global Esports Sustainable Development Initiative was released, following three principles. First, an esports technology interoperability platform will be established to ensure that each online&offline esports competition attracts at least 50 to 100 million spectators; Next, 30 esports-themed cultural and tourism projects will be created in China; third, a global ESG evaluation system for esports will be established .

In June, the 2024 Global Esports Industry Development Report was released, announcing that Beijing ranked among the top ten cities in the "Global Esports City Influence" ranking. China is also home to the largest number of headquarters of esports copyright holders worldwide, making it a unique "supermarket" in the global esports industry.

In the Esports market in China, it is estimated that by 2026, the scale of China's e-sports market will exceed 300 billion yuan, driving the scale of surrounding industries to exceed 1 trillion yuan, and becoming an important growth point for the digital economy. In the long run, the number of users is anticipated to reach 245.6 million users by 2029. User penetration will be 15.2% in 2025 and is expected to increase to 17.3% by 2029.