Just this yearIn early November, as per usual, we attended the launch event for PlayStation's "China Hero Project" and once again conducted face-to-face interviews with several key figures from the fourth cohort.
Interestingly, this launch also took place at a very special time: exactly ten years ago,PlayStation's "China Hero Project" was officially launched and, over the past decade, successfully incubated numerous single-player games with authentic Chinese creator heritage, including "F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch" and "Infinity Strash." Although not every title achieved commercial success, they undoubtedly played a positive role in promoting the healthy development of the Chinese gaming market.
And in the past two years, with the release of high-quality domestic single-player works like "Black MYTH - Steam Edition: Wukong" and "Phantom Blade Zero," the development, user, and publishing ecosystem for Chinese games has undergone tremendous changes. Amidst these changes, at the forefront,PlayStation's "China Hero Project" naturally needs to adapt accordingly. On a smaller scale, this launch event serves as a validation and summary of the past decade's achievements; on a larger scale, it will become an important "first step" for the "China Hero Project" in the next decade.
In addition to Bao Bo, head of Sony Interactive Entertainment China, those participating in the post-launch interview session included Ying Chao, producer of "Jue Xiao"; You Rongchang, Managing Partner and CEO of DENMU; and Yusuke Katagiri, Asia President and Head of Publishing at Solutions 2 GO.
Below is the original transcript of the interview from this launch event:
Q: A major upgrade in the fourth phase of the "China Hero Project" is providing $1 million in funding for each selected game. At this current juncture, what is the necessity of allocating this fund? Why choose this timing for such an investment? What kind of return do you expect?
Bao Bo:PlayStation's increased investment in projects serves as an endorsement to some extent, helping these teams attract more investors, publishers, and other high-quality partners, which is the main objective. Of course, PlayStation's investment can indeed solve some problems in the short term. Our internal requirements for financial returns are not high; we simply hope to help and support the growth of Chinese developers.
Q: What specific problems can this $1 million solve?
Ying Chao:$1 million is indeed not a small amount. In the past, $1 million might have been enough for the production cost of a single indie game. Of course, products ranging from AA to AAA definitely require more financial support. In the current domestic investment environment, a single investment of $1 million is not a small sum and falls within the normal range, providing significant help. Additionally, having Sony Interactive Entertainment undertake this initiative carries a different significance than a simple financial investment—it means recognition from a senior veteran in the gaming industry, which is very helpful.
Q: Regarding the commercial planning of projects in the "China Hero Project," what support does Sony Interactive Entertainment provide to teams? For example, Solutions 2 GO is mainly responsible for global publishing and promotion. How specifically does it help Chinese developers find the optimal solution for commercial returns in the international market?
Yusuke Katagiri:Firstly, Solutions 2 GO is a global company with branches in North America, South America, and Asia. This means we have experts in each market who can accurately grasp the real needs and pain points of users (including players) in each region, allowing us to tailor our marketing and distribution strategies accordingly. This is the first point.
As a Japanese gamer, I have very high standards for game localization, including whether the language localization is adequate and acceptable to Japanese players. Therefore, in this regard,Solutions 2 GO can also provide more support behind the scenes, such as calibration and verification.
Q: Does this $1 million investment count as project investment or equity investment?
Bao Bo:Currently, all our investments are project-based.
Q: Denmu is involved in game investment, and currently, there are still very few USD funds focused on the gaming sector. Why do you continue to focus on the gaming track?
You Rongchang:The gaming industry generates$200 billion in revenue, which is not small compared to any market; in fact, the scale is quite large, but its presence in financial markets is relatively weak. I believe there are many mismatches between the financial and fiscal attributes of the gaming industry and those of financial markets. Although the gaming market is large and one of the most important cultural industries, using traditional VC methods for investing in tech companies to invest in games makes it difficult to achieve returns comparable to those in the tech industry.
We are thinking about how to solve this problem. The gaming industry also needs continuous"blood transfusion," requiring continuous capital inflow. We only invest in games, so our entire structure, transaction design, architecture, and staffing are built around the gaming industry. Our biggest promise to fund investors is that the returns you receive will be different from those in AI and other fields, which we call "uncorrelated returns." This makes it a very attractive area for them.
Although it sounds like a joke— There is already too much investment in other industries, but we believe there is still much to be done in the gaming industry.
The last reason, which we particularly value, is that people should do what they love.
Q: Previously, the selection criteria for the "China Hero Project" were "fun, visually appealing, and sonically pleasing." In the 2026 development environment, with the普及 of virtualization and AI tools, players' standards for domestic AAA games seem to have changed and expectations have risen. Will the criteria of "fun, visually appealing, and sonically pleasing" be adjusted?
Bao Bo:Selecting games is a very complex process. If the focus were solely on investment, investing in large projects would be the safest option. However, by choosing to start with small and medium-sized teams, we are essentially engaging in incubation, which involves building an environment and community, so our expectations for returns are not as high. But we hope to support Chinese game development teams in improving their overall standards. Because only when there are more high-level teams in a market and competition becomes more intense will good works emerge from mutual competition, forming a virtuous cycle.
Additionally, people have played more good games in the past two years, especially "Black MYTH - Steam Edition: Wukong." I've also been playing "Phantom Blade Zero" recently, and it's indeed very well-made. These games involve very high investments. Although they may not match the ultra-premium projects overseas, the investment levels are already quite high domestically, and the quality of such projects is generally not poor.
We are actually cultivating teams, teaching them how to spend such funds wisely. When teams can secure$10 million, they need to spend that $10 million wisely to produce high-quality products commensurate with the investment. Even with the same $10 million expenditure, the quality gap can be significant. What we can help them with is establishing industrialized processes and assisting them in accumulating more experience. Game development is no less complex than high-tech projects due to the large number of participants, and the advanced teams in programming and art use cutting-edge technology. We rely on experience and efficiency to elevate management to a certain level, striving to produce games as high-standard products. This way, teams will have the potential to expand in size and the capability to handle larger investments in the future.
When teams can handle high investments and achieve good returns, people won't feel that the money was wasted.— It yields returns within the game itself, such as rich content, high artistic quality, excellent combat performance, and extensive animation, all of which reflect these returns.
The goal of the "China Hero Project" is to help these local teams grow, enabling them to handle higher-specification projects and manage their funds effectively. While helping local teams master technology, we are also seeking different partners, such as Denmu and Solutions 2 GO, to help them expand globally.
You Rongchang:Chinese games have evolved from the past decade's focus onWe are moving into a stage focused on "quality." "Quality" is benchmarked against "industry," because Chinese single-player games previously lacked an industrial foundation. Although the industrial system is not yet fully in place, it has improved significantly with some assistance. The game market does not lack supply; it lacks interesting content. Perhaps five or ten years ago, a Chinese AA or AAA game itself could serve as a selling point and gain market attention, but that era passed quickly. Going forward, the path lies in distinctiveness. Good quality is just a basic requirement; the key is to have unique features. Conversely, some smaller-scale products may not have the highest quality but possess more distinctive characteristics, allowing them to sell well.
Q: The positioning of the "China Hero Project" remains incubation. Did you ever discuss whether the plan should transform and ultimately decide to continue with incubation, or have you been considering how to deepen the incubation process from the beginning?
Bao Bo:Our incubation is also a selective program; we only incubate projects we believe are good, which is the premise. There are two key points to a project's success: first, it must be completed; second, its quality must be good. In terms of commercial performance, the baseline is that it should not be inferior to similar products. Only such products will we consider.The "China Hero Project" supports projects of any scale, as long as we find good projects—those we consider decent among similar products—and help them grow. We will continue to focus on incubation but will be selective.
Q: Against the backdrop of changes in the Chinese market environment, a large number of products with varying levels and qualities have emerged. As partners, what advantages do you see in the "China Hero Project's" project selection process during your collaboration, making you believe that your work aligns well?
You Rongchang:Our collaboration with Sony Interactive Entertainment's"China Hero Project" is a perfect fit. In all the cases we've seen in China, there are many creative ideas, but few that can be successfully implemented. I believe things will gradually improve in the future, but at this stage, for investors, a project may have great ideas, creativity, and a good demo, but there is still significant difficulty and a considerable gap in turning it into a real game. The "China Hero Project" handles this part well, allowing us to focus on how to highlight the game's selling points and fun factor without worrying about specific production issues.
Yusuke Katagiri:The selection process of the "China Hero Project" has already filtered projects for us, ensuring that the projects reaching us meet certain quality standards, which provides reassurance. Additionally, being selected for the "China Hero Project" means receiving substantial support, including assistance with subsequent game launches and marketing from Sony Interactive Entertainment, such as exposure through State of Play, which serves as a significant boost for us.
Q: Will the $1 million investment give partners more confidence in this initiative?
You Rongchang:$1 million represents varying proportions of the budget depending on the project scale. We collaborate extensively with Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation is very cautious about project investments; its willingness to invest $1 million in a project serves as an important endorsement for our partners.
Yusuke Katagiri:RegardingFor some games supported by the "China Hero Project," Sony Interactive Entertainment will definitely provide promotional assistance when launching in the Chinese market, helping the games gain more popularity. The Japanese market also pays attention to this—whether a game is popular and well-received in China significantly impacts them.
Q: In projects contacted by Denmu Dianmeng, what misalignments might exist between developers' and investors' focal points regarding a game?
You Rongchang:Overall, we are aligned, but everyone views games from their own perspective. Often, developers evaluate the game entirely from their team's viewpoint, potentially overlooking market perceptions. Conversely, focusing solely on market views makes it difficult to create uniqueness. Ultimately, it is a process of balancing and adjustment.
When communicating with developers, we first understand how they view their own game, and then assess their thoughts on certain features based on that foundation.
We indeed bring many different perspectives, as developers greatly need to maintain sufficientfeedback loop, but this is actually difficult—when you ask friends, family, or industry acquaintances, they are unlikely to offer criticism. As stakeholders with shared interests, we express our thoughts directly. Of course, they can choose to adopt or ignore these suggestions, but we believe providing such feedback is important.
Q: As a project in the third phase of the "China Hero Project," what was the collaboration process between the team and Sony Interactive Entertainment after joining the program? For the team, what substantial impact will this $1 million investment have on future development plans? Are there any ideas that had to be postponed due to resource or budget constraints that will now be rescheduled?
Ying Chao:Selected forthe "China Hero Project," there have been numerous collaboration milestones during this period—we regularly submit builds, and the "China Hero Project" team reviews them. Support departments for audio and sound effects also assist us with various tasks, including organizing playtests. In 2024 and 2025, we conducted offline playtests at the PlayStation booth during ChinaJoy. These were important moments for interacting with players, and we received extensive feedback. The game has been in development for several years, generating many ideas along the way. To quickly and clearly introduce the game to players, we need to distill the core points. The current focus is not on divergence, but on convergence.
We won't create extra content just because we received investment. Our core goal remains to meet players within the next two to three years, and during the process of showing the game to industry friends, todistill the feedback received—This is the content that needs to be integrated into the game most urgently; doing these things well is key. We don't aim to create a grand, all-encompassing feast, but rather to perfect the essential core of a premium product. This is the most important task ahead.
Q: "Juexiao" received additional funding support. During the re-evaluation, what changes in this project stood out? Was it the team's stronger development capabilities, or did it demonstrate new abilities?
Bao Bo:The investment assessment for this project involved long-term communication; the announcement of investment was a subsequent step. We highly recognize the development capability and speed of the "Juexiao" team, and the project itself is sufficiently unique. Our investment assessment is comprehensive and involves a continuous process, such as exchanging builds, reviewing development plans, understanding funding and staffing situations, etc. We also maintain frequent contact with the development team, project investors, and partners.
Q: By joining the "China Hero Project," what potential of Chinese games does Solutions 2 GO see? Combining your experience in overseas markets, what kind of works do you hope to find among Chinese development teams?
Yusuke Katagiri:Looking at current trends in the global game market, including the aforementioned "Black MYTH - Steam Edition: Wukong" and "Phantom Blade Zero," these Chinese games have received excellent responses and high popularity overseas. Therefore, we hope to find more high-quality similar works in the Chinese market following these two titles.
As mentioned earlier, "Daba: Land of Water Marks" has its background rooted in the culture of China's Western Regions. Since Japan and China share some cultural similarities, these related cultures are relatively familiar to us. We previously discussed this game with the developer and were deeply impressed during our exchange: they had prepared extensive materials, and what we saw was just the tip of the iceberg. It would be ideal if the highlights and ideas from these materials could be better conveyed to overseas players.
Bao Bo:"Daba: Land of Water Marks" draws primarily from the culture of China's Western Regions, incorporating cultural elements from Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Shaanxi, and other areas. The development team conducted field research, traveling across the country for a period before distilling these contents. At its core, this game is a Chinese story, deeply rooted in Chinese culture. We look forward to sharing more information with everyone in the future.
Q: This year, notable domestic single-player games in the market are concentrated in the action game or ARPG sectors, driven by both technical accumulation and market demand. From the perspective of the "China Hero Project" support and partner game investments, would you prefer to choose directions already validated by the market, or are you willing to take risks on new genres or creative concepts?
You Rongchang:We invested in "Star Wars: Galactic Racers"—A racing game withoutJedi without lightsabers"Star Wars" racing game. When we decided to invest, many thought we were crazy, believing the game's market positioning was flawed: Star Wars fans don't play racing games, and racing fans don't watch Star Wars. But the final results speak for themselves—the market acceptance was quite high. Therefore, our investment philosophy is not top-down, simply investing in genres we deem good. Instead, we look at whether the product can present a unique fantasy, whether that fantasy is substantial enough, and whether the product's scale can support it.
Why are there so many action games in China? I believe this is a stage in industrial development, as action games are relatively easier to execute well and offer visually striking quality, making them the largest segment. So, choosing action games at this stage is fine. However, in the long run, everyone will certainly want to explore different directions, and we believe China will make significant progress in this area.
Q: The "China Hero Project" offers specific suggestions for game development while respecting developers' creative philosophies. In actual collaborations, such as with the "Juexiao" team, have there been disagreements regarding game design? If so, how were they generally handled?
Bao Bo:For collaborative projects, we will definitely point out areas we feel are lacking. For instance, if the hit feedback is poor, we will indicate that the coordination of vibration, sound effects, and animation is inadequate. The developer is the primary decision-maker, deciding how and whether to fix issues. If they have their own ideas on how to address problems, we generally respect them, as they are the frontline operators and executors.
The "Juexiao" project is excellent, so we don't have many suggestions to offer; however, we might provide some advice on haptics in the future, becausePlayStation places great emphasis on controller haptic feedback. Developers often have their own "designs," but it's common in game projects that not all factors can be fully considered. If we discover loopholes, both teams discuss solutions. It's similar to interpersonal interactions: if you are good at cycling, I learn from you; if I am good at basketball, you learn shooting from me. It's a process of mutual learning.
You Rongchang:There are three types of game development teams. The first type argues fiercely with you, believing you are wrong about Everythinggj; this usually stems from insecurity and excessive sensitivity, making collaboration difficult. The second type follows your instructions like imperial decrees, which is also problematic because it means they aren't truly making their own game. The third type, ideal development teams, listen to all opinions and selectively apply them based on their own situation. I believe this is the quality a good game development team should possess. After hearing the shares just now, I have become even more interested in the "Juexiao" team.
Q:Influenced by successful domestic titles like "Black MYTH - Steam Edition: Wukong" and "Phantom Blade Zero",more and more domestic games are emerging. As an investor, besides art style and cultural themes, what other aspects do you look at to determine if a project has its own unique identity? Were there any projects that didn't catch your eye at first but changed your mind after playing theDEMO?
You Rongchang:Game development is complex. In the current market, visuals are extremely important. It's hard to say a game can sell solely on other elements without any visual distinctiveness,—It's not impossible, but it is indeed rare. Thus, visuals remain crucial. We dislike rigidly dissecting games into cultural elements for analysis. Instead, we ask: What experience do you and the producer want to bring to players? Is this experience unique? For example, in "Daba: Land of Water Marks," combat is one of its main experiences, so our focus lies more there. In some games, the experience revolves around the interweaving of hundreds of different storylines, where combat holds less weight. Therefore, the key is thiswhat Fantasy is, and whether your game can convey it effectively—this is what we value highly.
This is mostly not an issue for Chinese games—Many games look promising at first glance, but you realize they fall short once you actually play them. Because DEMOs are relatively short, they can effectively showcase the team's ideas, but they cannot sustain a full game. After all, games often run for 10to 20 hours, which is very difficult. This is the difference between games and movies: many game developers want to make movies, always wanting to tell a story to the audience. But the problem is, in a game lasting 10 hours, you can't just keep telling a story. It's challenging to convey the narrative through gameplay while keeping players entertained.
Therefore, I believe the more common issue with domestic games currently isThe DEMO was attractive, but the final game turned out poorly—that is a bigger problem. There is no shortage of creativity in China; I am not worried about Chinese games lacking creativity.
Q: The "China Hero Project" has new partners. What are the methods or criteria for selecting partners?
Bao Bo:Our partnerships with Denmu and Solutions 2 GO are highly significant for the China Hero Project. Many selected projects face similar challenges, such as a lack of overseas resources—so we aim to bring in partners who can fill this gap. On the other hand, many selected projects require partners with strong game evaluation skills who can provide effective feedback. Denmu, for instance, possesses both an international perspective and the ability to offer professional game feedback, which is crucial and has been immensely helpful to us and even more so to the teams.
Solutions 2 GO has collaborated with PlayStation for over 20 years, and some of Sony Interactive Entertainment's offices worldwide were established together with Solutions 2 GO.
The collaboration between the "China Hero Project" and Denmu and Solutions 2 GO was a natural progression.
Q: Looking back from the current point, how do the products encountered by the "China Hero Project" and the tricky issues faced during work progress differ from five years ago?
Bao Bo:Domestic developers are undergoing a process of self-discovery and self-understanding.
Firstly, many talented individuals work at large companies with high incomes and are unwilling to leave to make single-player games.
The number of people truly passionate about single-player games isn't as high as imagined, but the figures have suddenly risen in the past two years.—possibly due to the success of Black MYTH - Steam Edition: Wukong, allowing people to see the "momentum" of domestic single-player games, leading to more teams and entrepreneurs favoring this field.
Secondly, developing single-player games is highly challenging.
My current feeling is that Chinese teams are indeed very strong. I recently had a thorough experience with Phantom Blade Zero and found it excellent. Additionally, having interacted with many teams, I believe that many teams without released works yet possess capabilities that will surely surprise everyone. I think Chinese teams have been striving hard; although the journey has been tortuous, the overall trend is upward.
Ying Chao:For those interested in making single-player games, the environment is certainly improving, but has it reached an explosive growth phase?...As everyone can see, the upcoming projects are few, so we certainly haven't reached a concentrated harvest season yet. The overall trend compared to two years agoor even compared to a year ago, things are completely different. The overall trend is positive, including the good performance of Phantom Blade Zero, which makes us happy and boosts confidence for everyone.
You Rongchang:Simply put, when will the spring of Chinese single-player games truly arrive? It depends on whether the revenue share of Chinese blockbusters in the Chinese region can drop tobelow 50%, then it will truly arrive. I feel our road is still long; spring is coming, but it hasn't truly arrived yet. The Chinese market is large, but the global market is even larger—therefore, Chinese games' exploration of overseas and global markets is still in a very early stage, with many opportunities to do better.
Yusuke Katagiri:On one hand, it's an expectation. I eagerly anticipate that day and hope that by then,it would be wonderful if Solutions 2 GO could participate and lend a helping hand to everyone.
on the other hand, I hope not only will games sell well, but perceptions of single-player games will also change, attracting more attention to this market. This would expand the entire market, making the pie bigger,the "China Hero Project" will also improve through its involvement, creating a positive cycle, which I greatly look forward to.