China’s WeChat: AI to Empower More People in Minigame Creation

WeChat, the all-in-one app of a major Chinese internet and gaming company, remains optimistic that artificial intelligence will empower more everyday users to create mini-games. This outlook was shared by the product director of WeChat Mini Games during a recent conference in Hangzhou.

There are two primary reasons why AI-generated mini-games haven’t yet delivered significant hits, explained Li Qing at the event. First, game development typically involves collaboration among artists, programmers, planners, and operators, but AI’s current capabilities in facilitating such teamwork are still limited. Second, the publishing process for games involves standardized workflows that are not yet optimized for AI integration, Li added.

Data from the conference shows that the number of mini-game developers on the platform hit 500,000 last year, an increase from roughly 400,000 in 2024. The monthly active users for these games exceeded 500 million, with 47 percent being female, and the average daily time spent per user surpassing 60 minutes.

Over 80 percent of mini-game developers are small to medium-sized teams with fewer than 30 members. Many of these teams have just three to four people in the early stages. However, with AI, a solo developer can now create an entire game.

He Yikun, who developed One Arrow After Another, shared that it took only a week to launch the initial version of the game. The main challenges involved level generation and sequencing, tasks that AI can currently handle effectively. Without AI, he noted, the development timeline would have been two to three weeks.

You Zexu, creator of The Good Life mini-game, mentioned that AI is currently focused on boosting efficiency. It has been applied to project kickoff, market research, planning document writing, and task design, with noticeable monthly progress. Nonetheless, AI’s role in commercializing mini-games is still evolving and remains heavily dependent on human input, You emphasized.

The user base for mobile games in China is estimated at around 700 million, with the WeChat mini-games audience already substantial. While there’s no specific goal to reach 600 million monthly active users, there are other promising avenues for growth, Li stated.

For instance, daily active user counts have surpassed 100 million, yet there’s room for expansion compared to the total monthly active users. Opportunities to enhance daily engagement and overall game retention remain significant, Li concluded.