China's PC games market brought in $13.7 billion during 2021.

That's according to research company Niko Partners, which reports that that overall the country's games sector was worth $45.5 billion, a five per cent increase year-on-year. The other $31.8 billion of that total came, perhaps unsurprisingly, from China's mobile games market.

Meanwhile, Chinese games company apparently saw international revenue increase by 27 per cent year-on-year to hit $17.3 billion.

“In the past year we have watched gamers entertain themselves with nostalgic and new games during the pandemic lockdowns, we have watched youth gamers wave farewell to a primary pastime due to regulations limiting their hours for gaming, and we have watched innovations such as esports hotels and the metaverse emerge,” Niko Partners' boss Lisa Hanson said.

“We fully expect China’s metaverse to develop differently when compared to the rest of the world due to the unique regulatory environment in China. Game companies have started to invest in internal projects and partner with local governments with more than 16,000 metaverse related trademarks filed by Chinese companies. The greatest short-term opportunity for metaverse in China will come from interoperability across gaming ecosystems and collaborative events with brands and IP holders.”

The future is looking bright for China, too. Niko Partners forecasts that this year the sector will bring in $47.73 billion – a five per cent increase year-on-year – while by 2026, it'll be worth around $55.22 billion.