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ChinaJoy 2026: China Goes Global, AI, Ads & Payments

ChinaJoy 2026 in Shanghai drew 438,900 attendees and over 900 exhibiting companies from 35 countries, highlighting China's growing global ambitions in games. The event saw heavy presence from adtech and payments firms (both domestic and international), strong discussion and demonstrations of generative AI across development and operations, and commentary that Game Science’s Black Myth: Wukong marked an inflection point for China’s move into premium PC/console game markets. Pocket Gamer also ran side events including PGC Summit Shanghai (770+ delegates). Speakers and exhibitors signalled fast AI adoption, intensified competition among monetisation and payments vendors, and increasing inbound and outbound international business activity for Chinese studios and global partners.

Universal Ads Adds Audience and Mobile Measurement Partners

Universal Ads announced two new partner categories in its Business Partners Program: Audience Partners and Mobile Measurement Partners. Inaugural Audience partners include Klaviyo, LiveRamp, and TransUnion; Mobile Measurement Partners integrated directly are Adjust, AppsFlyer, Branch, Kochava, and Singular. The additions let advertisers bring first- and third-party customer segments and established mobile attribution workflows into Universal Ads’ self-serve premium TV buying platform, aligning TV campaigns with existing digital measurement and activation processes. Universal Ads said the changes aim to make television advertising feel as familiar and integrated as other digital channels, and highlighted a broad roster of publisher partners including NBCUniversal, Roku, Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery and others.

ChatGPT Ads Adds Conversion Bidding and Measurement

ChatGPT Ads rolled out new performance-focused features including conversion-optimized cost-per-click (oCPC) campaigns, mobile measurement integrations with AppsFlyer and Adjust, and improved budget and campaign management tools. Budgets will be managed using a rolling seven-day average with automatic pacing, and advertisers gain Automatic Advanced Matching using hashed customer data for better website conversion attribution. The Ads API now supports asynchronous bulk creation and updates for campaigns, ad groups, and ads, and geographic exclusions and updated product cards (with pricing and star ratings) are being added. The release emphasizes foundational capabilities—conversion optimization, attribution, and scalable campaign operations—making ChatGPT Ads more competitive with established self-serve platforms like Google Ads and Meta Ads.