The WASD Series: In China, Paying Someone to Play Arena of Valor with you is a rapidly growing trend

4 min read

• The market is growing worldwide, especially in China

• In China, large mobile services are offering variations of gaming companionship 

• For only around $5 an hour, gamers can hire an ‘e-girl’ to keep them company while you game

China’s mobile game revenue is one of the fastest growing in the world and is expected to reach $25.49 billion by 2023. According to statistics gathered from GlobeNewswire, the revenue increased by more than 30% in 2018 from the previous year. In the midst of this flourishing market, the heavy presence of gaming culture is giving substantial rise to transactional relationships. For example, a new service has been making waves across China and other parts of the world: renting gaming companions. 

In North America, Egirl.gg is a website that links gamers to “e-girls”—or gaming companions — usually young women who advertise their profiles in cosplay outfits and suggestive photos; among their profiles, they’ll also include their game ratings and the rates they charge per game. Usually, on sites like Egirl.gg, prices tend to range from $1 to $20 an hour. Gamers can personally navigate through hundreds of profiles and find companions to game with them or simply keep them company. Being a North American website, egirl.gg has seen exceptional growth within its early stages of being launched. 

On the other hand, China particularly has one of the fastest-growing “Game Companion” markets. The largest shopping app Taobao boasts a popular e-girl service; currently,  there are more than dozens of mobile platforms that offer similar services in China. NetEase, Heizhu Esports, and Taobao are all prime examples. One of the most popular e-girl services, Bixin, usually constitutes 30 minute sessions that range from 10-25 Bixin coins (around $2-$5 USD). On this app particularly, users will usually send out requests and interested e-girls will offer their services. The apps also offer other services as well, like “emotional” consulting, which gives off a similar concept to therapy.

According to the Prospective Industry Research Institute and analysis from Zhiyan Consulting, the e-girl market in China has achieved more than 500 million yuan of financing in 2018 alone, meaning it is a market that is exceptionally high in demand and especially favored by investors. With over 640 million yuan in 2019, the rate was 2.5% higher than that of 2018. Because the gaming market in China is already astounding in size, the ‘e-girl’ companionship industry proves to be a fast-growing way to garner large profit. 

Sources:

D’ Anastasio, Cecilia. “A New Site Connects ‘Egirls’ With Gamers— for a Fee.” Wired. Web. 16 March 2020.

China Industry Information Network. “Industry Chain and Market Operation and Trend Analysis of China’s Game Companion Industry in 2019”. Web. 5 February 2020. 

Mingjun, Li. “More than 500 million yuan of financing flowed to 5 game accompaniment platforms in one year to understand the 2018 Chinese game accompany market”. Foresight Industry Research Institute. Web. 15 April 2019. 

Article written by Emily Zhang of MDS.

The WASD Series is a new article series by MDS that explores the world of esports in a Chinese context. Esports, short for electronic sports, is a type of sport competition using video games. Popular esports games include League of Legends, CS:GO, and Overwatch. According to CNN, esports is a rapidly growing business in China and is now worth over 100 billion yuan ($14 million).

Check out MDS’s interview series, The Moxie Series, which shines a spotlight on innovative female entrepreneurs, creators, and trailblazers making waves in China. 

Metric Design Studio (MDS) is an award-winning, independently owned integrated digital agency in Shanghai. We specialize in web design & development, graphic design, e-commerce management, and WeChat solutions.