Today (the 15th), the 2026 WeChat Open Class PRO was successfully held in Guangzhou. During the Mini-Games session, Li Qing, a lecturer for the WeChat Mini-Games Open Class, provided an update on the development of the WeChat Mini-Games ecosystem, covering the platform’s current status, the evolution of game categories, and changes to incentive policies. The following is a transcript of the session:
Good afternoon, everyone. The topic I’d like to share with you today is “Innovation: Winning the Future.” The gaming industry is currently one of the fastest-growing sectors globally, and it is also one of the industries most likely to maintain rapid growth in the future. In the gaming market, innovation is the most vital driving force. Whether it involves innovative gameplay mechanics or the application of cutting-edge technology to the industry, these advancements will propel the entire gaming sector forward.
Over the past nine years, the WeChat Mini Games platform has consistently encouraged innovation and entrepreneurship, harnessing the power of creativity to drive its continuous progress. Looking back, from the launch of *Jump* to the official opening of the platform to businesses, and from surpassing 1 billion cumulative registered users to exceeding 500 million monthly active users, the overall commercial scale of WeChat Mini Games is projected to grow at a rate of nearly 20% by 2025.
These achievements are inextricably linked to our founding mission and our philosophy of “turning creativity into value.” I remember that shortly after the WeChat Mini Games platform launched—specifically on August 17, 2018—we published a letter to all developers through the official account “Make a Mini Game.”
In that letter, we clearly outlined our vision as a platform and established the foundational rules of the platform. The letter is still available online, so if you’re interested, feel free to look it up. In that letter, we emphasized that creativity offers everyone the opportunity to prosper in a fair environment. Additionally, we stressed the importance of protecting small and medium-sized teams throughout this process, providing them with more opportunities for growth, and ensuring that developers of all sizes can thrive within our ecosystem.
In 2018, we first introduced the concept of “turning creativity into value.” Our hope was that more developers would be able to earn a sustainable income through their creativity, thereby encouraging them to continue their efforts. Over the past nine years, we have remained committed to these principles, vision, and goals, working alongside developers to drive the growth of WeChat Mini Games. We are confident that we will stay true to our original mission and help everyone create even greater value in the future.
Let’s take a look at the achievements developers have made over the past 25 years: the platform now has over 400,000 registered developers, 80% of whom are small and medium-sized teams with fewer than 30 members. They use their creativity to rapidly validate ideas through mini-games, creating their own unique forms of fun and value.
We have observed that successful products in the IAA category in 2025 share certain characteristics: first, perseverance; second, continuous innovation. For example, there is a mini-game called *Ruins Survivor*, created by a team of just one person. This small team has been dedicated to the mini-game category for many years, and through continuous iterations, the game achieved impressive results in 2025.
Another example is the game *Eat, Bump, and Match*, which was released as early as 2024. Since its launch, the developers have consistently focused on long-term management, and the game continues to maintain strong daily active user (DAU) numbers to this day.
In addition to small teams, we have also observed that many professional teams with substantial resources are now entering the mini-game development space. They are driving the entire mini-game market toward higher quality and more diverse gameplay.In 2025, nearly 70 games achieved a daily active user (DAU) count of over one million, and more than 300 games generated quarterly revenue exceeding 10 million. Additionally, 5,000 developers released mini-games on the platform for the first time in 2025. Compared to last year, the value created by developers within the entire mini-game ecosystem has also seen significant growth. We firmly believe that in 2026, we will be able to join hands with all of you, our developers, to create even more exciting experiences on the mini-game platform.
Having reviewed the achievements of developers, let’s now take a look at the overall landscape of Mini Games. Currently, the user base for WeChat Mini Games has stabilized at over 500 million, and user demographics have remained relatively consistent compared to 2024, so we won’t delve into this further.At the same time, we have observed some interesting trends. For instance, there has been a significant increase in detailed user engagement metrics, such as a 10% growth in DAU. The retention rate for users who are active for ten or more days per month has increased by 27% year-over-year compared to 2024. Playing favorite mini-games during their free time has become a habit for many users.
Next, let’s take a look at some basic statistics regarding users with different interests and hobbies. In 2025, the number of monthly active in-app purchase (IAP) users exceeded 300 million. We also observed several changes among heavy gamers: first, user retention has improved, with monthly gaming hours among paying users increasing by 5%; second, their spending power has further expanded, with overall ARPPU growing by 25%.
The monthly active user base for IAA games exceeded 400 million in 2025, with significant increases in both the average number of games per user and user retention rates. Demand for high-quality casual games is actually very strong, which has driven the continuous growth of the entire IAA market.We believe that the casual gaming sector will continue to grow rapidly in the future, and the overall commercial scale of the IAA market will expand further. By 2025, the core user base for classic casual game genres—such as match-three, puzzle, and brain-teaser games—had already surpassed 100 million.
At the same time, as AI technology advances, our platform team is also developing AI-powered coding capabilities. In the future, this will enable even ordinary users to write messages using natural language. Imagine being able to bring your ideas to life using natural language, then sharing them with friends to play together—and even earning a little reward in the process. Every time we imagine and discuss this scenario, it fills our team with excitement.
In terms of game genres, MMOs and SLGs continued to account for the largest share of the market in absolute terms in 2025.We have previously noted that the SLG market holds significant potential, and its performance in 2025 has validated our initial assessment. Clearly, we continue to believe that genres such as RPGs and SLGs still have substantial room for future growth. In the casual gaming segment, many titles have successfully catered to the needs of female users, while some products have achieved modest surges in popularity through stunning visuals and unique social features. In 2026, these social-focused products are also expected to see considerable growth opportunities.
Now let’s look at the chart on the right, which illustrates the current distribution of casual IAA game genres. The circles represent the current market size of each category, the horizontal axis represents the player base, and the vertical axis represents our assessment of future growth opportunities for these categories. As shown in the chart, genres such as puzzle-matching and simulation games have significant potential, and these categories within the IAA sector likely present opportunities worth exploring.
As we look to the opportunities ahead, we hope that developers will boldly embrace innovation. The platform will also continue to work hard to help reduce production costs and accelerate the business cycle.
Regarding our business policies for 2026, we have revised our IAP policies. On the Android platform, in addition to the standard 70% revenue share, we have introduced a new incentive program for newly launched games. Products that achieve 10 million yuan in revenue for the first time will receive an additional 40% bonus, and this incentive is no longer unlocked on a monthly basis; it is awarded immediately upon meeting the criteria.Additionally, products that do not exceed 2 million in revenue during the launch period are eligible for a 5% cash bonus. This means that in-app purchase mini-games can achieve a maximum return on investment of 120%.
Another topic of great interest is the progress on payments for iOS mini-games. I’d like to update you on this: we are currently in discussions with Apple and expect to integrate the payment system for mini-games on iOS very soon. Furthermore, the revenue share on iOS will be a fixed rate of 15%.
Regarding IAA, to make things easier for everyone, we have streamlined our overall commercial policies and introduced two options for you to choose from. Specifically, you can earn up to 90% of the revenue within the first 30 days, and up to 85% within the first 90 days. With these policies in place, we believe you will be able to build product cycles more easily and focus your energy on product iteration.
Mini-games are more than just games. We’ve established an IP partnership platform to help developers secure IP partnerships. Over the past 25 years, the number of IPs on the platform has increased by 176%, and we’ve facilitated nearly 100 partnerships. Next year, we’ll upgrade the platform again to attract more classic and original IPs to join and collaborate.
At the same time, mini-games continue to deliver positive value, such as promoting cultural awareness. Currently, more than 100 mini-games on the WeChat Mini-Games platform have joined the WeCare public welfare initiative. Last year, *Seeking the Way in the Vast World* partnered with Wuyishan to promote tea culture through a series of science-based trivia questions. Additionally, *Ancient Book Restorer* collaborated with the Shanghai Library, the Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences, and China Bookstore to help preserve and pass on our cultural heritage of ancient texts.
We also look forward to seeing more developers use their creativity to generate value on our platform while spreading warmth and positivity throughout society. Finally, I’d like to extend a special thank you to everyone: since our WeCare initiative launched in 2024, we’ve raised over 8 million yuan in donations over the past two years. We’re deeply grateful to every developer who has contributed their kindness.
Thank you, everyone.
原创文章，作者：游茶妹儿，禁止转载：https://youxichaguan.com/en/archives/195287
