PHILIPPINE game development companies secured $1.45 million in potential sales during an outbound business mission to Shanghai, China, as local studios sought to expand their foothold in one of the world’s biggest gaming markets.
The delegation, which stayed in China from July 29 to August 4, brought seven Philippine companies to Shanghai, where they pursued business opportunities and showcased their capabilities in game development, art and animation outsourcing, and original intellectual property.
The participating companies were GameOps Inc., HPL Game Design Corp., Monstronauts Inc., Buko Studios, Strobetano, Neun Farben and Cadre Creative Labs.
From July 31 to August 2, the companies joined ChinaJoy 2026, one of Asia’s major gaming industry events, as part of efforts to connect Philippine studios with international buyers, publishers and industry players.
The mission was jointly organized by the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Export Marketing Bureau and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Shanghai.
Trade and Industry Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque said Philippine studios bring together technical expertise and creative capabilities that can compete in the global market.
The China mission comes as the government seeks to push creative and digital businesses into higher-value segments of global supply chains, where game development can generate revenue through both outsourced services and original intellectual property.
The DTI and the Game Developers Association of the Philippines (Gdap) earlier formalized their cooperation through a memorandum of understanding signed on March 9.
The agreement covers industry events, training and capacity-building programs, international market access and platforms for promoting games developed in the Philippines.
The partnership forms part of initiatives under the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act and the DTI’s Malikhaing Pinoy program, which aim to develop the country’s creative industries and expand their access to international markets.
The local game-development sector already has an established outsourcing base. The Philippine Creative Industries Development Plan, using 2020 industry data, estimated that the sector generated about $150 million from external development services.
The same data showed that local developers had produced roughly 1,000 original games, supported by around 4,000 full-time employees and another 6,000 independent contractors working on local and foreign outsourcing projects.