1. Intro

Maybe you are a fan of Kung Fu Panda, and maybe you have watched the films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero, etc. You may even keep abreast of numerous kungfu stars, such as Bruce Lee and Jet Li. But it can only say you are a semi-fan of martial arts. Even native Chinese can hardly define “martial arts”!

There are so many films, literary works and paintings themed by martial arts, and it seems that the Chinese theme has stepped into the global cultural world in recent years. And the game industry benefits from martial arts too!

2. Origin & Current Status

Martial arts games do have a long history in China. According to understanding, over 30 martial arts –themed online games have been released in 2011, surpassing the number in the past three years.

After the first Chinese browser game Mopet was released in China in June, 2006, a rapidly-growing number of browser games have been created in China every year. The fierce competition hidden behind the growth just forces game developers to select a theme that interests players most, which in a sense explains why martial arts games flooded into the Chinese market irresistibly in 2010.

What about the Chinese elements or even martial arts games in Europe and America? Now, I’ll share with you some clues collected relating to browser games!

As far as I know, Battle of 3 Kingdoms (Chinese Pinyin: Pao Mian San Guo) is the first Chinese browser game that has been pushed into the overseas markets. On June 5, 2008, Battle of 3 Kingdoms’ publisher Wedomo located in Beijing, China signed an agreement with China-based Rich on the game’s overseas operation.

Subsequently, such browser games as Neverland Online (Chinese Pinyin: Tian Shu Qi Tan) from Oak Pacific Games and other games from Shanda Games were successfully released in overseas markets, many game companies flocked to overseas markets gradually.

Instantly, the overseas markets got so much valued that browser game companies like JoyPort, 9wee and 51wan engaged themselves into overseas game operation successively by releasing more than a dozen well-known browser games like Kingory, Kungfu Hero, and Business Tycoon, among which, martial arts-themed online games take account of the majority.

According to reports, 28 online games developed in-house by 12 Chinese online game companies were exported to the overseas markets in 2007 and realized sales of USD 55 million, an increase of 175% compared to 2006’s USD 20 million. In 2010, the sales soared to an amazing new height again.

Now, let’s check out some martial arts-themed games published in China and worldwide! And never hesitate to voice your opinions! (Due to fuzzy classification, a few games are not totally themed by martial arts. But please don’t mind taking a look! )

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China Proper Martial Art Games (PC Game)

China Proper Martial Art Games (Web Game)

Non-China Proper Martial Art Games (Web Game)

Non-China Proper Martial Art Games (PC Game)