From August 26 to 28 local time, the highly anticipated 2026 Zhejiang Trade in Services (Cologne) International Game Expo was grandly held at the Koelnmesse. As a key component of Gamescom—Europe’s largest and most authoritative comprehensive gaming exhibition—the Zhejiang delegation made a spectacular debut with a 101.5-square-meter custom-designed exhibition area, showcasing 10 of Zhejiang’s top gaming and digital culture companies. The event highlighted the innovative achievements and cultural appeal of Zhejiang’s gaming industry, demonstrating to the world the brand appeal of “Zhejiang Services, Serving the World” and the province’s strength in digital trade. The event has attracted significant attention from industry leaders, media, investors, and gamers worldwide.

Centered on the theme “Digital Empowerment, Cultural Globalization,” the Zhejiang exhibition area has organized the participation of 10 Zhejiang-based companies, including Hangzhou NetEase Thunderfire Technology Co., Ltd., NetEase (Hangzhou) Network Co., Ltd., Chenhuan Xinghe (Hangzhou) Cultural Technology Co., Ltd., BOOMING TECH, Hangzhou Haotang Technology Co., Ltd., Hangzhou PingPong Intelligent Technology Co.,Ltd., Zhejiang BoCai Virtual Film Production Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Fuqiao Network Technology Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Digital Octopus Technology Co., Ltd., Quzhou Wuduan Network Technology Co., Ltd., among others. The exhibits featured a diverse range of products, including console game software, online games, mobile games, AR/VR devices, 3D animation, and digital cultural and creative IPs. These displays comprehensively showcased the overall image and distinctive achievements of Zhejiang’s gaming and animation cultural industries from multiple perspectives.

During the exhibition, Zhejiang companies showcased their latest game products and technologies. Among them, Hangzhou NetEase Thunderfire Technology’s Planet Party Time innovatively blends life simulation with party-style competitive gameplay. Leveraging high-quality character rendering technology featuring 100,000 strands of hair, the game creates a soothing cosmic life experience. NetEase (Hangzhou) showcased the overseas version of its open-world martial arts MMORPG, “Sword of Justice”. The game recreates the Song Dynasty Lin'an style based on "Mengliang Lu" and "Old Matters of Wulin", and incorporates Zhejiang intangible cultural heritage such as Yue Opera and powder-fired puppets. It revitalizes traditional culture with motion capture technology and has a global audience of over 40 million. It is a benchmark for Zhejiang's digital culture going global.At the opening night of Gamescom, it was announced that "Ananta," a new urban open-world game independently developed by NetEase Games Thunder Fire Business Group, will be launched globally on January 15, 2027. The game's urban areas are modeled after the cities of Hangzhou and Shanghai, and iconic elements such as West Lake and Longjing tea plantations have been incorporated into the game. Currently, the game has been pre-registered more than 10 million times worldwide.

The Zhejiang exhibition area adopts digital exhibition methods such as holographic projection, interactive large screen, and smart guide. It is set up with functional sections such as business negotiation area, multimedia display area, supporting event area, and exhibit display and experience area, which not only meets the needs of product display, but also creates a private and efficient communication space for cross-border cooperation. During the exhibition, well-known overseas game companies will be invited to our province's booth for business matching. This is not only in line with the needs of industry chain integration, but also a brand-new attempt to integrate the service trade sector into a professional exhibition.

The successful hosting of the 2026 Zhejiang Trade in Services (Cologne) International Game Expo brought together leading game companies and small and medium-sized cultural and creative enterprises in the province, showcasing innovative achievements in online games, independent games, self-developed engines, XR digital IPs, and more. The exhibited products deeply integrate local cultural elements such as Song Dynasty intangible cultural heritage and revolutionary history with cutting-edge game technology. Through a specially designed digital exhibition area, the products are showcased, hands-on experiences are provided, and cross-border business connections are facilitated, actively expanding overseas distribution channels. This exhibition not only showcases the achievements of Zhejiang's game and animation industry to the world, but also puts into practice the development concept of "Zhejiang Service, Serving the World", building an important international cooperation bridge for Zhejiang's digital cultural products to go global and deepen international service trade exchanges.