TenPay Global vs Twitch

Four Ways to Help International Visitors Feel at Home in China

New article added to Tencent's All News page: 'Four Ways to Help International Visitors Feel at Home in China' published September 28, 2026.

Data Roundup: Funding, Earnings, Market Trends in Gaming

This weekly data digest covers several key stories in the mobile gaming industry. Tencent led a $25M Series A for Circle Games. AppMagic estimates show top earners in August, led by Gossip Harbor and Roblox. Japan's mobile game IAP revenue fell 5.1% to $10B in 2026. A Newzoo-Google report reveals 46% of online consumers play webgames monthly. Duolingo's crossover with Brawl Stars boosted installs. Colony Flow, Mystery Dumpling, and Hunting Rivals show strong revenue numbers. Bandai Namco's Bleach game passed 400k pre-registrations. Topdog raised $2.5M for real-money skill games. Jest alt app store hit a $1M run rate.

• Circle Games raised a $25M Series A led by Tencent, with participation from e2vc, Bitkraft Ventures, APY Ventures, and a16z Speedrun.
• Japan's mobile games market generated over $10B (¥1.56T) in IAP revenue in 2026, down 5.1% year-on-year.
• Gossip Harbor led App Store revenue and Roblox topped Google Play revenue in August, per SocialPeta.

China's AI Datacenter Boom: 24GW Capacity, $20B BAT Capex

SemiAnalysis introduces its China Datacenter Model, revealing China's datacenter capacity to be over 24GW, larger than EMEA and rest of Asia combined. This is driven by massive capex from Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu (BAT), and ByteDance, with BAT's combined Q2 2026 capex reaching $20B, more than doubling YoY. The report highlights the shift from telecom-dominated retail to wholesale AI-driven buildouts, the impact of the 'Eastern Data, Western Compute' policy, and rapid construction speeds enabled by prefabrication. Despite high vacancy rates in legacy facilities, AI demand fills new wholesale capacity quickly. The model tracks over 1,000 facilities and over 60 operators, providing building-level data on capacity, tenants, and growth trajectories through 2032.

• China's datacenter capacity reaches over 24GW as of 2026, exceeding EMEA and APAC ex-China.
• Combined capex of Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu (BAT) reached $20B in Q2 2026, more than doubling YoY, with all three posting negative free cash flow.
• ByteDance occupies roughly one-fifth of delivered datacenter capacity in China, making it the largest tenant.

Roundup: Publisher AI Payments, Twitch AI Safety

This daily news roundup covers multiple topics. Google's pilot pay-per-value licensing program for publisher content used in AI Overviews is showing widely varying payouts, from over $1 million annually for one publisher to under $1,000 for smaller sites, with participants lacking clarity on payment calculations. Twitch is deploying AI to transcribe and assess brand safety of streamer videos, risking ad revenue loss for flagged content, amidst streamer concerns about context and nuance. Amazon introduced 'Request Reviews for Sponsored Ads' and Microsoft is testing review snippets in search ads. Google and Amazon are restricting public access to reviews to protect data from rival AI models. Other news includes retailer AI assistants (DoorDash, Kroger), a White House AI commitment, Instagram's AI video editor, and Airbnb's AI and ecommerce integrations.

• Google's pay-per-value pilot for publisher content in AI Overviews shows payouts ranging from under $1,000 to over $1 million annually, with opaque calculation methods.
• Twitch is using AI to transcribe streamer audio and assess brand safety, potentially removing ad inventory from flagged content.
• Amazon launched 'Request Reviews for Sponsored Ads', a format prompting post-purchase reviews.

YouTube Gaming Creators Earn 23% Higher Deal Rates Than Twitch

According to Collabstr data, YouTube gaming creators command 23% higher average deal rates ($203.35) compared to Twitch streamers ($165.70) for completed paid transactions between 2023 and July 2026. YouTube also offers more stable pricing across quarters, while Twitch rates fluctuate significantly. Brands are increasingly favoring YouTube for gaming sponsorships, with gaming campaigns averaging $3,373.62 per campaign. The report highlights that Twitch creators list higher asking prices but realize lower capture rates (32%) compared to YouTube creators (82%). Short-form content is becoming a key deliverable, with brands requesting reels, stories, and shorts. The data suggests a shift in brand allocation towards YouTube for gaming creator partnerships.

• YouTube gaming creators average $203.35 per deal vs $165.70 on Twitch, a 23% premium.
• YouTube connections outnumber Twitch by 15.5 to 1 across all niches on Collabstr.
• Twitch creators list average asking price of $398 but realize $127 (32% capture), while YouTube creators ask $311 and realize $255 (82% capture).

Amazon Music livestreams Superbloom festival to boost global fan experience

Interview with Roger Menz, Head of Amazon Music DE/AT, discussing Amazon's strategic move to livestream the Superbloom festival in Munich. The initiative aims to make live music accessible beyond the physical venue, positioning Amazon as a central hub for fan experiences. The article touches on the role of Twitch and collaboration with advertising partner Boss, indicating Amazon's growing investment in live music brand activations. The full content is paywalled, but the visible excerpt highlights the value of extending live events globally through streaming.

• Amazon livestreamed the Superbloom festival in Munich.
• Roger Menz is Head of Amazon Music DE/AT.
• Amazon collaborates with advertising partner Boss.