2025 CDEC Summit: HarmonyOS Powering the Future of Gaming

SHANGHAI, CHINA – July 31, 2025 – The China Digital Entertainment Congress (CDEC) summit concluded today in Shanghai, highlighted by a keynote from Zhang Sijian, President of Interactive Media BU, Huawei Consumer Cloud Service. Speaking on “Technology-Empowered Experience Innovation: HarmonyOS Gaming Leading the Future,” Zhang emphasized the maturity and market validation of HarmonyOS 5, now powering over 10 million devices.

Over 6,500 HarmonyOS Games Available as Developers Accelerate Adoption

According to the “China Game Industry Report, January-June 2025,” the domestic game market generated an eye-watering 168 billion yuan (approximately $23.3 billion USD) in revenue during the first half of the year, a remarkable 14.08% year-over-year surge. Overseas revenue for Chinese-developed games reached $9.5 billion USD, up 11.07% year-over-year. These figures underscore China’s pivotal role in the global gaming landscape, fueled by mobile internet penetration and rapid technological advancements. Games, now a cornerstone of the digital creative sector, are demonstrating robust market vitality, with technological innovation and content integration serving as key drivers. The HarmonyOS ecosystem, with its unique architecture, stable performance, and open approach, is rapidly emerging as a major force in promoting high-quality development within the gaming industry.

As of July 2025, the Huawei Game Center boasts over 6,500 HarmonyOS games, creating a multi-terminal ecosystem spanning smartphones, PCs, tablets, smart screens, and in-car entertainment systems. Tencent’s top-tier titles such as *Honor of Kings* and *Peacekeeper Elite* are available in HarmonyOS versions. Highly anticipated games including *Delta Force*, *Call of Duty*, *Arena Breakout*, and *Light and Night* have launched HarmonyOS test servers. *TFT: League of Legends Strategy Game* and *League of Legends Mobile* are slated for future HarmonyOS releases. New titles like *Bravelands*, *Kuroko’s Basketball Street Rivals*, *Endless Winter*, *Age of Stars*, and *Eternal Night: Resurrection* have debuted on HarmonyOS, achieving impressive results. With over 500 game developers already collaborating within the HarmonyOS ecosystem, ever more are prioritizing HarmonyOS adaptation, making it a critical platform for cross-platform ecosystem building, technological upgrades, and content innovation within the industry.

HarmonyOS Core Technology Breakthroughs: Refreshing Gaming Experiences with Smoothness, Interconnectivity and Intelligence

Built on the foundation of the HarmonyOS operating system, breakthroughs like the Ark Compiler and all-scenario interconnectivity architecture are unlocking new possibilities. HarmonyOS is focusing on empowering developers by pushing the experience boundaries of gaming through smoothness, interconnectivity, and intelligence, bringing these innovations to every facet of the gaming experience.

Deep integration of software, hardware and cloud ecosystems via the Ark Engine optimize HarmonyOS game performance, graphics, and loading speeds. Performance improvements are evident in optimized titles like *Honor of Kings*, yielding a 21% increase in responsiveness via the Ark Scheduling Engine and the Ark Graphics Engine optimizing, which delivers smoother and faster gaming sessions.

All-scenario capabilities are core to HarmonyOS. HarmonyOS distributed technology and terminal interconnectivity are enabling interactive innovation features like “Tap to Play” and hover controls. “Tap to Play” simplifies multiplayer game setup in titles such as *Overcooked*, enabling instant team formation with a simple tap. Star Flash hover controls addresses hand-eye coordination challenges on the smart screen, improving gameplay for titles like *QQ Speed* by providing an expanded viewport and more extensive control.

HarmonyOS’s powerful AI capabilities are deeply integrated into gaming. AI-powered scene awareness, Celia Game Assistant, and intelligent recommendations are sparking creativity. Gamers can use voice controls with *Legend of the Three Kingdoms*, which leverages the AI large language model to translate intent into actions, freeing hands and improving freedom.

Full Ecosystem Empowers Developers, Opening New Opportunities

As the game industry transitions from “scale expansion” to “value cultivation,” technological innovation is raising the bar for product quality, while innovations in content are better meeting the growing and diversifying needs of the market. Film-game synergy, a value-added model where film and game content are integrated, is an exciting new paradigm. The Huawei Game Center provides end-to-end services from design to distribution, tailoring content and maximizing IP value to achieve broader market penetration. The short film *Wildland Mystery”, adapted by Huawei Game Center and earlier in the year based on the SLG title *Wild Bloom*, generated over 200 million impressions and 15 million online views via multi-channel marketing and precisely targeted traffic, boosting game activity and conversion rates.

The “2024 China Game Overseas Research Report” indicates that the global game market size reached 1.2163 trillion yuan (approximately $168.7 billion USD), a year-over-year increase of 3.31%, with mobile games leading the charge. Beyond established markets, the Huawei Game Center and its partners are actively pursuing growth opportunities in emerging markets like Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Huawei leverages its deep experience in operating and enabling services overseas, offering comprehensive solutions via diversified co-operation models tailored to local ecosystems.

Additionally, China’s mobile mini-game market reached 39.836 billion yuan (approximately $5.5 billion USD) in revenue, a year-over-year increase of 99.18%, and is continuing to grow at significant rates. Leveraging the momentum, the Huawei Game Center is working with partners to fully capitalize on evolving opportunities. The graphics rendering technology of HarmonyOS WebGE improves frame rates of higher graphic games. Games such as the 3D game *Dawn Awakening*” will be hitting stores soon. Huawei is also providing comprehensive support for global expansion, enabling developers to seize opportunities and drive growth on the international stage.

The vibrant HarmonyOS ecosystem is enabled by the full support of developers and partners. As of June 2025, the Huawei Developer Alliance has reached 8 million registered developers. To further stimulate innovation, enhanced HarmonyOS gaming incentive programs across all scenarios, mini-games, full operations, and overseas expansion are encouraging developers to leverage the platform’s unique features. Huawei is constructing a multimedia traffic matrix and providing intelligent distribution across all scenarios, reaching hundreds of millions of gamers.

Fueled by user and partner input, the HarmonyOS ecosystem is reaching new heights. The milestone of 10 million HarmonyOS 5 users is another significant achievement, both for the HarmonyOS and the broader landscape of technological innovation. The Huawei Game Center pledges to work hand in hand alongside developers and partners to generate experiences that will push the gaming industry through new services and development.