The press conference for the 23rd China International Digital Interactive Entertainment Exhibition (ChinaJoy) 2026 was held on June 24 at the Shanghai International Convention Center. The conference announced that the exhibition will take place from July 31 to August 3 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, with the theme "Explore with AI." Driven by an unprecedented lineup of game demos and a cutting-edge AI technology ecosystem, the exhibition will comprehensively showcase the latest achievements in the digital entertainment industry.
Tang Jiajun, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, Secretary-General of the Game Working Committee, and Chairman of the E-Sports Working Committee, and Lu Yiwei, Director of the Culture Reform and Development Office and Director of the Online Publishing Office of the Publicity Department of the CPC Shanghai Committee, attended and delivered speeches. Lu Yiwei noted that empowered by the "Ten Shanghai Gaming Policies," Shanghai’s online gaming industry has seen impressive growth in overseas expansion. This year’s ChinaJoy will host the 2nd China International Game Developers Conference and the Global Esports Conference, upgrade the integration of culture, commerce, tourism, and sports exhibitions, create a China-chic themed zone, and support Shanghai’s development as a "Global Esports Capital" and "Game Innovation City." Wan Fangyu, General Manager of Shanghai Hanxinweiheng Exhibition Co., Ltd., presided over the press conference, introducing the overall preparation and core highlights.
All guests attending the press conference
Tang Jiajun, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, Secretary-General of the Game Working Committee, and Chairman of the E-Sports Working Committee
Lu Yiwei, Director of the Culture Reform and Development Office and Director of the Online Publishing Office of the Publicity Department of the CPC Shanghai Committee
Wan Fangyu, General Manager of Shanghai Hanxinweiheng Exhibition Co., Ltd.
Record-breaking scale, over a thousand game titles and hot products to be unveiled
This year’s ChinaJoy covers a total exhibition area of over 140,000 square meters, with nearly 900 exhibitors confirmed so far, including 275 foreign-funded enterprises from 39 countries and regions such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and South Korea. The BTOC interactive entertainment hall spans nearly 120,000 square meters, gathering over 350 companies; the BTOB business hall covers 25,000 square meters with more than 500 companies, of which foreign-funded enterprises account for 46.6%. Over 500 game companies and teams will present more than 1,000 game products on-site, and over 600 games have registered for the online Steam festival. Leading enterprises from tech, hardware, designer toys, automobiles, and other fields will also exhibit over a thousand hot products, jointly creating a summer digital entertainment extravaganza.
Major products gathered, interactive experience fully upgraded
Tencent Games, NetEase Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Century Huatong, Giant Network, Perfect World, Kingsoft Seiyou, China Mobile Migu Interactive, Pixmain, Shunwang Technology, PlayStation, 360 Games, Kingnet Network, Bilibili Games, Linbei Interactive, 4399 & HaoYouKuaiBao, Pocketpair, and over 500 other manufacturers will provide more than 1,000 games for offline trials, with multiple trial zones gathering numerous exciting indie games. Qualcomm, in partnership with industry ecosystem partners, will build the Snapdragon-themed pavilion, centered on "AI-Driven Experience Evolution," offering an immersive digital entertainment experience through multi-terminal convergence. Companies such as Unitree Robotics, Limitless Drive, Magic Atom, Lumi Intelligence, and Yunmu Intelligent Manufacturing will bring humanoid robots and embodied intelligence products for a new interactive experience. Brands including Maicong, AULA, VGN, Visionox, ATK GEAR, Qianxingzhe, aigo, Morphling, Kioxia, Beyerdynamic, SanDisk, and Fanxiang will gather; ZOL.com.cn will collaborate with Samsung, Lenovo, Canon, Hikvision, YMTC, HKC, AGON, and 20 other brands to create a tech-entertainment booth; in imaging, Sony, Nikon, Panasonic, Polaroid, Sigma, SmallRig, and other manufacturers will build a full-chain imaging experience; TCL CSOT will partner with terminal brands including Lenovo, AGON, EVNIA, ASUS, LG, MSI, Acer, BenQ, TCL, Sony, and RayNeo, using APEX Ultimate Image as a link to present a display product feast for global gamers; BYD will showcase intelligent cockpit and new energy vehicle innovations; Taobao Tmall Toys, Hot Toys, MOSHOWTOYS, threezero, INART, Kayou, Kadokawa Tianwen, Damanjiang, JOYTOY, Prime 1 Studio, and many other brands will present hot products; Lao Feng Xiang, Deli, Puyin Hotel and others will also exhibit; brands like AULUMU, OUROPROXY EDC, 01, GD, PEL, BPMODS EDC, TWILA, Xiaomang, KADA EDC, Rapid Boil, and others will gather in the UGA Extreme Gear Zone, leading the new trend in high-end decompression consumer goods.
For details on 2026 ChinaJoy exhibits, please refer to the exhibition highlights summary.
First official main stage and multiple innovative zones, driven by both content and technology
For the first time, an official ChinaJoy main stage will be set up, where the Intel Master Challenge Finals will ignite the event's fervor. The newly added Vision Future Frontier Technology Zone will showcase new technologies such as intelligent robots, AI large models, and smart wearables. The ChinaJoy Next Play Innovation Game Experience Arena will offer trials of cutting-edge products like AI NPCs, interactive narratives, and generative content, creating an experimental space for deep AI-game integration. An exclusive Imaging Technology × ACG Culture zone will integrate the entire "capture, process, output" industrial chain. The UGA Extreme Gear EDC PARK zone will connect with high-net-worth Gen Z groups through high-end decompression toys. These pioneering initiatives strongly highlight the dual-drive strategy of "content + technology."
Enhanced internationalization, building a global digital entertainment industry hub
This year’s exhibition brings together companies from over 30 countries and regions, with overseas professional visitors expected to reach ten thousand, creating a bridgehead for global industrial cooperation. National pavilions from Russia, South Korea, Spain, Poland, the Philippines, Japan, and the Hong Kong region of China will all participate, covering nearly 900 square meters. ChinaJoy will continue to refine its international ecosystem of mutual empowerment and multi-layered connections, leveraging its role as a world-class industry integration platform to propel the digital entertainment industry’s leap forward and upgrade.
Major collaborations, strong alliances to build a value highland
ChinaJoy has reached a strategic cooperation with the Xu Beihong Art Museum. In the 2026 Year of the Horse, the exhibition will serve as a platform to promote art and technology crossover integration, sparking collisions between classic IPs and the digital industry, and establishing a new benchmark for the fusion of cultural confidence and industrial innovation. From July 29 to August 3, the "2026 ChinaJoy Game Show" special page will once again land on the front pages of both Steam and Steam China, with a fully upgraded lineup featuring selected heavyweight products from top global game developers and indie developers, creating a "second exhibition hall" in the digital world and realizing a three-dimensional global presentation of "offline event, online linkage." Douyin Live will launch its first platform-level competition for pan-voice streamers this year—"Sound Wave Carnival Season"—attracting hosts from voice chat rooms, virtual, and radio scenarios. As ChinaJoy's official content cooperation platform and official live streaming cooperation platform, Douyin Live will invest traffic resources, create a dedicated themed zone, invite winning hosts and special guests from the "Sound Wave Carnival Season" to the venue, and bring exciting live performances and on-site interactions. Alipay's "Tap" will join the exhibition to offer a new near-field interactive experience, debuting "Tap to Team Up" and "Points Multiplier" gameplay, and heavily launching the "Tap Physical Ticket Stub" series of merchandise with built-in NFT chips. Visitors can tap their phones on the ticket stub to unlock exclusive digital collectibles and core exhibition services, including four major services: map, exhibitor info, exhibition schedule, and mainline check-in. "Tap"-related services will gradually go online in early July, with a dedicated interactive experience zone at the venue. Taobao Tmall Toys will exclusively launch the "2026 ChinaJoy Cloud Exhibition" online venue in collaboration with ChinaJoy for the first time, gathering hot-selling items such as figurines, mecha, and IP derivatives, offering a one-stop experience of exhibition viewing and purchasing. Kuaishou will partner deeply with ChinaJoy, investing hundreds of millions in traffic support, inviting top KOLs in cosplay and esports, and creating large-scale live streams like "Con Coser Grand Challenge." Its cooperation identities are official content cooperation platform and in-depth cooperation media. JD Beauty will become the 2026 ChinaJoy beauty strategic partner, co-creating the "ChinaJoy × JD Beauty Carnival" IP to connect the entire chain of content—product—consumption and deeply cultivate the young beauty niche segment.
Dimensional resonance, directly hitting the new entertainment needs of young people
2026 ChinaJoy will partner with Huanyin Culture and Triangle Cat Culture to present two themed concerts. On August 1, the AniSonic Stardust 10th Anniversary Concert will be held at Star Glimpse (Bingang Commercial Center) in Hongkou District, centering on the virtual songstress Stardust, whose streams have surpassed 100 million. The approximately 120-minute performance will feature an immersive stage, a fan co-creation wall, a free stage, and other interactive areas, along with the launch of collaborative merchandise. On August 2, the Xuange Chinese-style Concert will be staged at VAS est, gathering talented Chinese-style artists to blend classical aesthetics with diverse musical genres, delivering an audio-visual feast of Chinese-style performance.
At the exhibition venue, a Coser free-roaming event is held, inviting top creators from gaming, anime, pop culture toys, tech, and other fields to create a cross-dimensional party. A new “Underground Idol Interaction Zone” is set up, offering derivative products such as custom character appearances and exhibition‑exclusive ice cream. In‑depth cooperation with Jian Wang 3 achieves a full closed loop of online emotional connection and offline consumer socializing. In 2026, the “Baida Plan” undergoes a comprehensive upgrade, driven by the twin engines of online content pre‑heating and in‑depth offline interaction, generating hundreds of millions of brand impressions for exhibitors.
Empowering Next-Generation Talent Development, Driving Innovative Technology Implementation
Leveraging ChinaJoy's role as an industry platform to support the development of next-generation professionals, the 6th China Game Innovation Competition Exhibition was held, gathering 204 game submissions. Entrants came from 19 provinces and municipalities nationwide and 6 overseas countries, with Shanghai-based entries accounting for 20%. This year's exhibition newly features the ChinaJoy AGS Academy Game Showcase, building a public-interest, professional, and international display platform for university creations. The second Shulong Cup Global AI Innovation Competition, initiated by Century Huatong, will present related events at the 2026 ChinaJoy AI Future Ecosystem Conference. In partnership with 405 Youju, ChinaJoy Next Play, an innovative game experience field exhibition area, will also be launched, showcasing the latest explorations in AI games and interactive entertainment, covering diverse formats such as AI NPCs, interactive narratives, and generative content.
Concurrent conferences closely follow the industry pulse, anchoring on growth hotspots
The 2026 ChinaJoy summit series closely follows the industry pulse of "AI-driven digital content creation," focusing on "new growth" and "technology breakthroughs," featuring six major industry summits to build a top-tier industry exchange platform covering games, AI ecosystems, digital consumption scenarios, and global layout. For the first time, it sets up the "Digital Entertainment Consumption Scenario Summit," restructuring the connection among people, goods, and venues in offline entertainment spaces. It focuses on three dimensions: "ecosystem synergy and value co-creation, scenario monetization and long-term operation, cross-border integration and ecosystem co-construction," exploring the integration of immersive hardware and offline content, digital twins empowering physical entertainment scenarios, and membership economy innovation, driving the digital entertainment industry from online product transactions to a physical ecosystem transformation of "hardware + content + space + operation." It also adds the "Short Drama Innovation Forum," themed "Drama AI · Let Every Frame Be a World Language," analyzing how AI technology propels short dramas from traffic competition to quality improvement, helping companies break down regional cultural barriers and create globally influential hits.
Integration of Pop Culture, Amplifying Shanghai's Local Brands
The 2026 ChinaJoy fully upgrades the Shanghai Famous Brand Exhibition Zone, adopting the distinctive old Shanghai Shikumen design to create an immersive display space that blends retro and trendy. Classic time-honored brands like Leiyunshang and Maxam are all participating, with many launching exclusive co-branded products for the show, achieving cross-boundary innovation between domestic brands and digital entertainment. The zone features a National Intangible Cultural Heritage Experience Area, complemented by check-in interactions and diverse experiences, bringing young people closer to traditional culture and local brands, enhancing the spread of Shanghai-style culture and the influence of Shanghai guochao.
Smart Service Upgrades Comprehensively Enhance the Visitor Experience
The exhibition upgrades from three dimensions: backend systems, business matchmaking, and on-site services. Improve private domain operational information services, upgrade the business matchmaking system, and open professional visitor badge application permissions for successfully matched parties. Partner with iFlytek to deploy intelligent translation devices in the BTOB exhibition area, supporting multilingual real-time interpretation and transcription to meet cross-border negotiation needs. Optimize booth coding and landmark guidance, set up self-service badge pickup zones to improve entry efficiency. Optimize player entry routes, dynamically adjusting route planning in real time, focusing on less walking and further enhancing player comfort while browsing. Upgrade the CJ Arena gameplay, launch an official card collection and points event where teams can earn multiplied points to redeem merchandise, increasing interactive fun during the show. ChinaJoy has also specially partnered with Aosai Intelligent, a leading company in the exoskeleton robot industry, to jointly create a new browsing experience. On-site visitors can personally experience exoskeleton black technology and enjoy a cyberpunk-style tour.
"Shanghai Summer" Citywide Synergy Fuels Consumption Boom
In line with the "Shanghai Summer" international consumption season, ChinaJoy partners with Pudong New Area to drive synergy between the exhibition and commercial areas like Lujiazui, Expo, and Qiantan, launching exclusive ticket stub benefits to guide young attendees to these districts, enhancing regional visibility and brand reach. Extending the exhibition effect, it launches the second Pudong "Guzi Carnival," linking multiple commercial circles to create a cultural, entertainment, and consumption-integrated anime extravaganza.
2026 ChinaJoy Early Bird Tickets Going on Sale Soon
This year's ChinaJoy tickets will be released in three rounds, with the schedule as follows:
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July 8: Super Early Bird tickets on sale
July 9: Early Bird tickets on sale
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July 10: Official full ticket sales begin
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Domestic audiences can search for "ChinaJoy" on any of the official designated platforms—Damai, CJ Magic Cube Official WeChat Mini Program, Bilibili Membership Purchase, Alipay Blue Fireworks, Piaoxingqiu, Ctrip, ShowStart—one week before ticket sales to reserve for rush purchases. Overseas audiences can buy tickets through the MaiSeat platform.
Professional Visitor Badges and Conference Passes are now available for purchase via the CJ Magic Cube Official Mini Program and Huodongxing platform. CDEC all-forum passes can be obtained for free by scanning the QR code of the CDEC Conference Exchange Group before July 15. Stay tuned.
CJ Magic Cube Official Mini Program
Huodongxing
CDEC Conference Pass Application
