文 | DataEye
在过去一段时间，MMORPG一直是中国游戏厂商的重要收入来源。但当一个曾经成熟的品类开始遭遇增长压力，游戏公司能否依靠新产品、新市场和新技术，建立下一条增长曲线，正在成为行业新的观察重点。
根据Naavik对全球移动游戏市场的分析，2021年至2025年，全球移动MMORPG的内购收入从53亿美元降至28亿美元，四年间缩水约47%；同期下载量从3.45亿次降至2.06亿次，下降约40%。这并不意味着所有MMORPG都失去了市场，但品类整体的收缩，确实让依赖少数长青产品的增长模式面临更大挑战。
与此同时，SLG与小游戏正在展现不同的市场机会——根据《2025年中国游戏产业报告》，2025年中国自主研发移动游戏海外收入前100名中，策略类游戏收入占比达到49.96%；国内小程序游戏市场收入则达到535.35亿元，同比增长34.39%。一边是传统优势品类承压，另一边是不同赛道仍在创造增量，游戏厂商的业务布局也随之发生变化。
由此来看，行业变化并不是某一品类简单取代另一品类，而是不同赛道的增长逻辑正在分化。MMORPG仍有长青产品和IP运营价值，但厂商已经不能再把增长全部押在同一类产品上，如何复用既有研发、发行和商业化能力，同时进入新的品类与市场，成为头部企业需要回答的问题。
MMO大厂转型的尽头：中轻度SLG？
以三七互娱和世纪华通为例，头部厂商的业务布局，正在折射出中国游戏行业寻找新增长曲线的路径。但如果将目光从单一企业扩展至整个行业，会发现厂商面对的并不是一道简单的品类选择题，而是产品生命周期、市场空间和运营能力之间的综合考验。
三七互娱：从成熟MMO产品运营到SLG与小游戏并行布局
在过去，MMORPG毫无疑问曾经是三七互娱一个重要的标签。至今，MMORPG仍然是三七互娱产品组合的一部分。 2026年1月，公司自研的《RO仙境传说：世界之旅》在中国港澳台地区上线，曾登上当地主要应用商店免费榜及畅销榜榜首。经典IP仍然能够为新产品提供用户认知和市场基础，但IP价值并不等于成功保证：如何在保留原有情怀的同时更新玩法、适配不同地区的用户习惯，并通过持续运营延长生命周期，仍是决定产品表现的关键。
其次，SLG出海正在从成熟产品积累走向新品接力。在Sensor Tower的2026年9月中国手游出海收入Top 30中，三七互娱有3款SLG上榜。
稳定表现的《Puzzles & Survival》自上线至2026年年中累计用户超7500万、累计流水超168亿元，长期以来为三七互娱积累了SLG海外运营经验；而在9月份海外收入突破2600万美元、创下新高的《Last Asylum: Plague》，以及首次上榜的《Z Route: Redemption》等新品，则提供了观察其后续增长能力的窗口。
对于SLG而言，题材和玩法融合能够帮助产品触达更广泛的用户，但真正决定长线表现的，仍是产品能否建立稳定的社交关系、持续更新内容，并在买量成本和用户生命周期之间找到平衡。
第三，小游戏为三七互娱提供另一条持续输的产品路径。ADX数据显示，在2026年10月微信小游戏百强榜中，三七互娱旗下共有8款产品入榜，其中既有《寻道大千》《生存33天》《织梦森林》这样已有成熟玩家基础的产品，也有《斗破苍穹：斗帝之路》和《梦回甄嬛传》这样刚入榜的新游。
从产品数量到题材布局，三七互娱的小游戏产品已不再局限于单一类型，而是覆盖不同IP、题材与玩法方向。这也反映出其正在通过多品类产品布局、持续推新和发行运营能力，探索小游戏业务从单款爆品驱动向多产品持续供给的增长模式。
因此，三七互娱正在形成MMORPG、SLG与小游戏并行的产品组合。不同品类的商业化节奏也存在差异：部分MMORPG产品依靠成熟IP和既有用户基础，可能较快形成收入；SLG则往往需要更长的调优与运营周期，才能建立长期收益。两者并不存在绝对的优劣之分，真正重要的是企业能否让不同生命周期、不同商业模式的产品相互补充。
世纪华通：以不同业务主体承接不同增长机会
世纪华通的业务布局，则体现了另一种多元化路径：集团内部不同业务主体承担不同的增长任务。盛趣游戏长期经营《热血传奇》《龙之谷》等经典IP，点点互动则在海外市场形成了以SLG为核心、同时向休闲游戏延伸的产品组合。
世纪华通2026年半年度报告显示，今年上半年公司互联网游戏业务实现收入213.42亿元，同比增长29.87%。其中，点点互动和Century Games合计贡献收入184.41亿元。《Whiteout Survival》上线三年后再创新高，并于2026年6月登顶全球手游收入榜；《Kingshot》则长期稳居中国手游出海收入榜前三。两款主力SLG产品的意义不只是收入规模，更在于它们展现了中国厂商在竞争激烈的海外市场中，依靠长期运营、持续迭代和全球化发行建立产品优势的能力。
值得注意的是，世纪华通也并未将增长机会局限在特定品类。在Sensor Tower的2026年9月中国手游出海收入Top 30榜单中，世界华通旗下有5款游戏上榜，其中有三款为SLG，两款为休闲游戏。《食光旅行》《饭店奇旅》等合成游戏的亮眼表现，意味着成熟的海外发行与运营体系，有机会被复用到不同品类，而不必完全依赖单一赛道。
从集团层面看，世纪华通并不是让所有业务主体转向同一品类，而是通过业务分工，让传统IP运营与海外SLG、休闲游戏形成互补。这也提示我们，所谓转型不一定意味着原有团队集体改变研发方向，也可能是通过集团内部的资源配置，让传统业务与新增长引擎并存。
两家公司的共同点正在于此：从依赖单一产品或品类，走向多产品组合；从单一市场经营，走向国内与海外市场的差异化布局；从推出新游戏，走向研发、发行、商业化和长线运营能力的持续复用。
——SLG为什么能承接增长，又为什么不是简单的转型答案？
SLG成为中国厂商出海的重要收入来源，与其长线运营和商业化模式有关。但对于从MMORPG转向SLG的厂商而言，品类变化带来的不仅是玩法调整，也意味着产品研发、市场验证与收入释放节奏的变化。
MMORPG依托成熟IP、既有用户认知和相对明确的成长体系，部分产品能够在上线初期较快积累用户，并较早进入相对稳定的运营阶段；SLG则更依赖持续的内容迭代、联盟社交、竞争机制和长期目标建设，产品往往需要经历更长的调优与用户积累过程，才能逐步释放长线价值。
这种差异也决定了，转型不能只看产品上线后的短期表现。对于SLG而言，前期需要验证题材、玩法和获客效率，中期需要通过版本迭代与社交生态建设提升留存，后续才有机会依靠玩家关系、持续内容和商业化设计形成更稳定的收入。
买量能够帮助产品触达用户，却无法替代产品打磨与长期运营。因此，从MMORPG向SLG拓展，既是产品能力的迁移，也是经营节奏的重新适配：研发与运营团队需要为产品留出足够的验证和成长空间，同时持续评估用户留存、付费表现与获客成本之间的关系。
从行业数据看，SLG的市场空间值得关注，但并不意味着转型能够快速复制成功。策略类游戏在自研手游海外收入前100名中收入占比达到49.96%的数据反映的是头部出海产品的收入结构，而非所有出海游戏的普遍表现。
对正在布局SLG的厂商而言，真正值得关注的，不只是新品能否在短期内冲高收入，更是其能否逐步完成产品调优、积累稳定用户，并建立可持续的长线运营与商业化能力。不同品类的成长周期存在差异，转型的成效也需要放在相应的产品周期中观察。
大厂转型进行时，下一方向：AI
如果说SLG与小游戏代表着游戏公司在产品品类和市场上的增长探索，那么AI则可能进一步改变企业生产游戏、获取技术以及创造内容的方式。对于游戏公司而言，AI并非只有一个方向：它既能进入现有研发和营销流程，也可能催生新的内容形态，还能通过投资帮助企业连接外部技术资源。
目前，AI在游戏行业最容易观察到的价值，仍然是生产效率的提升。美术素材、视频广告、文本本地化、客服和投放等环节，往往包含大量重复性工作，适合通过模型和自动化工具提高产出效率。
这种变化已经从个别厂商的尝试，逐渐成为头部游戏公司的研发与运营布局。进入2026年，网易、腾讯等厂商陆续披露了AI在游戏业务中的应用进展——网易提到，AI已被整合进美术、设计、编程、动画和质量保障等游戏研发环节，并应用于部分游戏的动态交互玩法；腾讯在2026年发布的全年业绩材料中也表示，AI正在加速其游戏内容生产、改善用户体验并提升营销效率。可以看到，AI在游戏行业的应用正从素材生成等单点提效，向研发生产、游戏内交互和用户运营等多个环节延伸。
但生产效率提升只是第一步。素材产量增加，不必然意味着素材质量提高；生成成本下降，也不等于整款游戏的研发成本同比例下降。AI能否进一步缩短产品迭代周期、改善投放ROI，并让团队把更多时间投入玩法创新，才是判断其商业价值的关键。
如果说生产效率是AI对游戏行业的直接影响，那么内容形态的变化，则可能带来更长期的想象空间。
随着视频生成、实时交互和动态叙事技术发展，游戏与影视内容之间的边界可能进一步模糊。AI视频可以降低部分视觉内容的制作门槛，语言模型则可能让角色对话、剧情分支和任务反馈更加灵活。对于具有互动设计经验的游戏公司而言，这为互动影游、AI原生叙事以及游戏与短剧内容融合提供了探索空间。
AI带来的变化，还体现在游戏公司获取技术能力的方式上。
过去，游戏企业的对外投资往往围绕游戏研发团队、IP、发行渠道等传统产业链展开。但随着AI、机器人、算力基础设施等技术快速发展，越来越多游戏上市公司的投资版图开始延伸至游戏主业之外。
DataEye研究院此前的统计显示，2025年以来，15家主流游戏上市公司参与72项投融资项目，总投资金额超过872亿元，其中大量资金流向人工智能、机器人等前沿科技领域。游戏公司的投资逻辑，正在从单纯寻找下一款游戏产品，扩展至对底层技术和潜在新产业机会的布局。
从这个角度看，游戏公司的投资能力正在成为AI时代另一种值得关注的竞争力。
自研模型和工具考验的是企业内部的技术积累，投资则提供了连接外部创新资源的路径。尤其对于具备资金实力、产品发行和商业化经验的企业而言，投资不仅可能带来财务回报，也可能帮助其更早识别技术方向、建立合作关系，并为未来的业务创新预留空间。
结语：增长曲线不止一条，竞争能力也不止一种
从MMORPG到SLG、小游戏，再到AI，游戏公司的变化并非简单地追逐下一个风口，而是在原有业务增长承压时，重新配置研发、发行、市场和技术资源。
三七互娱在持续经营MMORPG的同时，推进SLG出海、小游戏布局和AI能力建设；世纪华通的案例说明，传统IP运营与海外新增长引擎可以并存。两家公司走的并不是完全相同的路线，但都体现出一个趋势：企业竞争力越来越取决于能否建立多元化的产品组合，并让研发、发行、商业化与技术能力在不同业务中持续发挥作用。
AI又在这一过程中增加了新的变量。它既可能提高现有业务的生产效率，也可能催生新的内容形态，并通过投资布局影响企业获取技术的方式。不过，无论是SLG、小游戏还是AI，都不能仅凭市场热度就被视为确定的增长答案。
赛道布局决定厂商在哪里寻找增长，AI能力则可能影响厂商以什么效率、什么成本，以及多大程度的创新能力去争取增长。在日新月异的市场中，对于游戏公司而言，真正重要的不是押中某一个风口，而是建立能够持续识别机会、验证产品并兑现商业价值的能力。
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Man, DataEye.
For some time, MMORPG has been a significant source of income for Chinese players. But as a once matured product begins to experience growth pressures, the ability of game companies to build the next growth curve on new products, new markets and technologies is becoming a new focus of industry observation.
According to Navik ' s analysis of the global mobile game market, global inward purchase revenue from mobile MMORPG fell from $5.3 billion to $2.8 billion between 2021 and 2025, and water shrunk by about 47 per cent over four years; downloads declined from 345 million to 206 million over the same period, a decline of about 40 per cent. This does not mean that all MMORPGs have lost their markets, but the overall contraction of the product class does pose a greater challenge to growth patterns that depend on a small number of green products.
At the same time, SLG and small games are showing different market opportunities — according to the China Game Industry Report 2025, in 2025, strategic games generated 49.96 per cent of China's 100 top overseas earnings in autonomous R & D mobile games, while domestic small game markets generated 53.535 billion yuan, an increase of 34.39 per cent. On the one hand, there is traditional preponderance pressure, and on the other hand, different tracks are still creating an increase, with a change in the layout of the players ' business.
As a result, industry changes are not simply replacing another, but the logic of growth in different tracks is dissimilar. MMORPG still has long-green products and IP operating values, but producers can no longer place growth in the same category of products, replicating existing R & D, distribution and commercialization capabilities, while entering new categories and markets, becoming a question to be answered by the header.
The end of the transition of the MMO plant: Medium Light SLG?
In the case of the three or seven recreational exchanges and the Chinese general, the business layout of the head manufacturer is reflecting the path of the Chinese game industry in finding a new growth curve. However, if the focus is extended from a single enterprise to the whole industry, it is found that the manufacturer is not facing a simple choice of goods, but rather a combined test between product life cycles, market space and operational capabilities.
3-7 Recreation: from the operation of mature MMO products to the parallel layout of SLG and small games
In the past, MMORPG has undoubtedly been an important label for three or seven recreational exchanges. To date, MMORPG is still part of the three or seven recreational product mix. In January 2026, the company ' s self-researched Legend of Ro ' s Wonderland: The World ' s Tours came online in China ' s Hong Kong/Australian region and was on the top of the free and best-selling list of major local applications. Classic IPs still provide user awareness and a market base for new products, but IP values do not amount to success guarantees: How to update the play practices while maintaining the original situation, adapt to user habits in different regions and extend the life cycle through continuous operation remains key to determining product performance.
Second, SLG is moving from the accumulation of mature products to new relays. In Sensor Tower ' s September 2026 Chinese hand-swap income to Top 30, three SLGs were listed for the three-sevenths.
The steady performance of Puzzles & Survival, which has accumulated more than 75 million users and more than $16.8 billion in cumulative water flows from mid-2026, has long accumulated experience with SLG overseas operations for the three or seven troupes, while in September, revenues from abroad exceeded $26 million, created a new high of Last Asylum: Plague, and, for the first time, Z Route: Redeption, provided a window to observe its capacity for subsequent growth.
For SLG, integration of subject matter and play can help the product reach a wider audience, but what really determines long-line performance is whether the product is able to establish stable social relationships, keep up-to-date content and find a balance between the cost of purchase and the life cycle of the user.
Thirdly, small games provide another path to continuous loss of products for the three or seven. According to ADX data, in October 2026, eight products were listed under the banner of WeChat, ranging from products such as " Search for the Great Millennium ", " 33 Days of Survival " and " Weasel Forest ", which are already the basis for mature players, to new trips such as " Breaking the Hole: The Road to the Emperor " and " Dreams to the Sun ".
From the number of products to the layout of the subject matter, the three or seven recreational small game products are no longer limited to a single type but cover different IP, subject matter and play directions. It also reflects the exploration of growth patterns in small game operations driven from single-tempo to multi-product sustainability through multi-product layouts, continuous renewal and distribution of operating capabilities.
As a result, the three or seven fun cycles are forming MMORPG, SLG and small games in parallel. There are also differences in the pace of commercialization of different products: some MMORPG products rely on mature IPs and established user bases, which may lead to faster revenue generation; and SLGs often require longer-term optimization and business cycles to build long-term gains. There are no absolute advantages or disadvantages between the two, and what is really important is whether enterprises can make products from different life cycles and business models complementary.
Century China: Different growth opportunities with different players
The business landscape of the century is another multifaceted path: different business players within the group have different growth mandates. The fun game has long run classic IPs such as The Hot Blood Legend, The Valley of Dragons, and point-to-point interactions form a combination of products with SLG at the centre of overseas markets, while extending to leisure games.
In the 2026 and a half-year annual report of China-China, the first half of this year saw revenues of $21.342 billion from corporate Internet games, an increase of 29.87 per cent over the previous year. Of this total, point-of-point interaction and the combined contribution of Century Gomes amounted to $18.441 billion. Whiteout Survival came on the line three years later and came to the top of the global hand-show income list in June 2026; Kingshot has long been at the top of China's hand-show income list. The significance of the two main SLG products is not just the size of their revenues, but rather their demonstration of the ability of Chinese producers to build their product advantage in highly competitive overseas markets through long-term operation, continuous iterative and globalized distribution.
It is worth noting that China-wide in the century has not confined growth opportunities to specific categories. In Sensor Tower ' s Top 30 list of September 2026 China ' s hand-swam income, five games were listed under the banner of China World, three of them SLG and two leisure games. The brightest performance of synthetic games, such as the Hotel Fake Brigades, means that mature overseas distribution and operations systems have the opportunity to be reused to different categories, without relying entirely on a single track.
At the group level, the century was not about moving all business players to the same category, but about complementing traditional IP operations with overseas SLG, leisure games through a division of business. It also serves as a reminder that a transformation does not necessarily imply a collective shift in the direction of R & D by the original team, or a combination of traditional business and new growth engines through intra-group resource allocation.
This is where the two companies have common ground: from relying on a single product or product group to a multi-product mix; from operating in a single market to a differentiated layout between domestic and overseas markets; and from the introduction of new games to a continuous reuse of R & D, distribution, commercialization and long-line operating capabilities.
– Why can SLG sustain growth, and why is it not a simple transition answer?
SLG has become an important source of revenue for Chinese manufacturers to go to sea, linked to their long-line operating and commercialization patterns. However, for producers that have moved from MMORPG to SLG, changes in product class have brought about changes not only in play adjustments but also in product R & D, market validation and income release tempo.
MMORPG relies on mature IPs, established user awareness and relatively well-defined growth systems, with some products being able to accumulate users faster in the early start of the line and to enter the relatively stable operational phase earlier; SLG relies more on continuous intertwining, alliance socialization, competitive mechanisms and long-term goal-building, and products often need to undergo a longer process of optimization and user accumulation in order to gradually release long-line values.
This difference also determines that the transition cannot be based solely on short-term performance after the product is online. In the case of SLG, there is a need for validation of the subject matter, play methods and customer efficiency, and for retention in the medium term through an iterative version and social eco-building, to be followed by an opportunity to rely on player relationships, continuous content and commercial design for more stable income.
Buying can help the product reach the user, but it cannot replace its grinding and long-term operation. The expansion from MMORPG to SLG is therefore both a shift in product capacity and a re-adaptation of the operational tempo: R & D and the operational team need to leave sufficient room for validation and growth of the product, while continuously assessing the relationship between user retention, paid performance and the cost of acquiring customers.
From industry data, SLG market space is of concern, but it does not mean that the transition can be replicated quickly. The figure of 49.96 per cent of the top 100 overseas income from self-study games reflects the income structure of head-to-head offshore products rather than the general performance of all offshore games.
The real concern for SLG producers is not only whether the new product will be able to raise their incomes in the short term, but also whether it will be able to achieve product optimization, build stable users and build sustainable long-line operations and commercialization capabilities. There are differences in growth cycles for different product groups and the effectiveness of the transition needs to be observed in the corresponding product cycles.
When major plant transformation takes place, the following direction: AI
If SLG and small games represent the growth exploration of game companies in product categories and markets, AI may further change the way business produces games, acquires technology and creates content. For a game company, AI is not in one direction: It can both access existing R & D and marketing processes and create new content patterns, as well as help enterprises connect external technological resources through investment.
Currently, AI ' s most visible value in the game industry remains its productivity improvement. The art asset, video advertising, localization of text, customer service and delivery often involve a large amount of repetitive work and is suitable for output efficiency through models and automation tools.
This change has evolved from attempts by individual manufacturers to become the R & D and operational layout of front-line players. In 2026, a number of manufacturers such as Internet, Tencent, have been disclosing the progress of AI's application in the game business. – It is easy to mention that AI has been integrated into the development of games such as art, design, programming, animation and quality assurance, and has been applied to dynamic interactive play in parts of the game; Tencent also indicated in its 2026 publish year-round performance material that AI is accelerating the production of its game content, improving user experience and increasing marketing efficiency. As can be seen, AI ' s application in the game industry is taking effect from single points such as asset generation, extending to R & D production, game interaction and user operation.
But productivity improvement is only the first step. The increase in asset production does not necessarily mean an improvement in the quality of asset; a decrease in generation costs does not mean a reduction in R & D costs for the whole game as a proportion. The ability of AI to further shorten the product iterative cycle, improve the placement of ROI and allow teams to devote more time to innovation is key to judging its commercial value.
If production efficiency is the direct influence of AI on the game industry, changes in content patterns may lead to longer-term imagination.
With the development of video generation, real-time interaction and dynamic narratives, the boundary between game and video content may become even more blurred. While AI video can lower the threshold for the production of selected visual content, language models may make role dialogues, drama branches and mission feedback more flexible. For game companies with interactive design experience, this provides an exploration space for interactive video tours, the AAI narrative and the integration of games with short play content.
The changes brought about by AI are also reflected in the way in which game companies acquire technological capabilities.
In the past, the outward investment of game enterprises tended to revolve around traditional industrial chains such as game development teams, IP, distribution channels, etc. However, with the rapid development of technologies such as AI, robotics, and computing infrastructure, investment maps for a growing number of games listed companies have begun to extend beyond the game industry.
According to previous statistics from the DataEye Institute, since 2025, 15 mainstream games listed companies have been involved in 72 investment projects, with a total investment of over $87.2 billion, of which significant amounts have been directed to the frontier areas of artificial intelligence and robotics. The investment logic of the gaming companies is extending from simply looking for the next game product to the layout of the underlying technologies and potential new industrial opportunities.
From this perspective, the investment capacity of the gaming companies is becoming another area of interest for the AI era.
Self-study models and tools test intra-firm technology accumulation, while investment provides a path to linking external innovative resources. In particular, for enterprises with financial power, product distribution and commercialization experience, investment may not only bring about financial returns, but may also help them identify technology orientations earlier, build partnerships and provide space for future business innovations.
Conclusion: More than one growth curve and more than one competitiveness
From MMORPG to SLG, to small games, to AI, the change in the game company is not simply to chase the next windfall, but to reallocate R & D, distribution, market and technical resources when the original business growth is under pressure.
While the MMORPG continues to operate, SLG has been promoted to sea, small game layouts and AI capacity-building; the Jubilee case shows that traditional IP operations can coexist with new growth engines abroad. The two companies do not follow exactly the same path, but both reflect a trend that enterprise competitiveness is increasingly dependent on the creation of a diversified product mix and the continued role of R & D, distribution, commercialization and technological capabilities in different operations.
AI added new variables in this process. It has the potential both to increase the productivity of existing operations and to generate new content patterns and to influence the way in which enterprises acquire technology through investment configurations. However, neither SLG, little game, nor AI can be seen as a definitive growth answer on the basis of market heat alone.
The track layout determines where the manufacturer is looking for growth, and AI capacity may affect the efficiency, cost and degree of innovation of the manufacturer to achieve growth. In the ever-changing market, what is really important for a game company is not to put a certain windfall in it, but to build the capacity to identify opportunities, validate products and deliver commercial values on a continuous basis.
Auto-fetched and translated by AI Atlas. All rights belong to the original author.