ChinaJoy， a cornerstone event in the gaming industry， is celebrating its 22nd anniversary. Over these two decades， the industry landscape has transformed dramatically， and ChinaJoy has continuously evolved. Currently， Qualcomm stands as a dominant force， largely underpinning the entire exhibition.
This marks Qualcomm’s seventh consecutive year participating in ChinaJoy and its sixth consecutive year with a commanding pavilion takeover. This consistent presence underscores Qualcomm’s deep commitment to the gaming sector and its strategic importance in engaging with both industry professionals and consumers.
This year， the Snapdragon theme hall has undergone a comprehensive upgrade. Qualcomm， in collaboration with 11 terminal manufacturers (Meizu， RealMe， Nubia， RedMagic， Honor， Xiaomi， ROG， China Unicom， OnePlus， iQOO) and 75 partners， is showcasing its “All-Hearted Passion” theme. The exhibition will feature over 100 Snapdragon-powered devices across 10 categories and will host demonstrations of more than 55 popular games and applications. This expansive display highlights the broad ecosystem built around Snapdragon， demonstrating its ubiquitous presence across various device types.
A particularly noteworthy highlight， as it is every year， is the Snapdragon XR Fantastic Journey. This year， attendees can expect a completely new gameplay experience， with the addition of thrilling horror elements， making it an unmissable attraction.
From smartphones to mobile gaming， tablets to AI PCs， and from XR extended reality to smart automotive applications， Snapdragon’s influence is pervasive. This broad application spectrum reflects Qualcomm’s strategy of leveraging its core processing technologies across diverse and rapidly growing markets.
Additionally， the Snapdragon JD Super Brand Day will run concurrently starting August 1st， offering substantial coupons combined with national subsidies， potentially saving consumers up to 700 yuan. This promotional event signifies Qualcomm’s effort to drive sales and consumer adoption through strategic partnerships and attractive offers.
Qualcomm’s initial foray into ChinaJoy was on August 3， 2018， with an impressive 300 square meter booth. This debut signaled Qualcomm’s strong intent to engage directly with the Chinese gaming market.
The year 2018 was pivotal， often referred to as the “Year of Mobile Gaming，” as mobile games for the first time accounted for over half of the entire gaming industry’s revenue， heralding a new era. This period saw the rise of dominant titles like “Honor of Kings” and “Peacekeeper Elite，” which have maintained their popularity.
Back then， Qualcomm’s flagship processor was the Snapdragon 845. Even at that stage， the Snapdragon 845 was a powerful mobile platform， laying the groundwork for future advancements in mobile gaming performance.
On August 2， 2019， Qualcomm made its second appearance at ChinaJoy， notably marking its first major pavilion takeover， commanding an astonishing 12，000 square meters. This significant expansion demonstrated Qualcomm’s growing confidence and investment in the Chinese market.
In 2019， Qualcomm’s flagship processor advanced to the Snapdragon 855， manufactured on a 7nm process， and was also the world’s first commercial 5G mobile platform. This was a crucial step in enabling the next generation of mobile experiences， including faster gaming and connectivity.
That year， Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon Elite Gaming solution， a comprehensive approach focused on improving and optimizing the mobile gaming experience in collaboration with OEMs， game studios， system platforms， and game engines. This solution addressed key aspects like performance， visuals， audio， and network connectivity， aiming to provide a superior gaming experience.
Today， it has even received its Chinese moniker: Snapdragon Elite Gaming! This branding signifies the culmination of years of development in its gaming-centric technologies.
Over the years， the Snapdragon Elite Gaming suite has evolved with increasingly sophisticated features， becoming a core technological driver for delivering exceptional gaming experiences on Snapdragon platforms. These advancements are critical for maintaining a competitive edge in the high-performance mobile gaming market.
For example， the Qualcomm Adreno GPU Motion Engine 2.0 analyzes consecutive frames using 3D information like motion vectors， depth data， and transformation matrices to track object movement， thereby enhancing game frame rates， reducing latency， and improving overall visual smoothness. This technology is already integrated into games like “Wuthering Waves.”
Another key feature is Snapdragon Game Super Resolution 2.0， which utilizes high-performance， high-quality upscaling technology. It renders games at a lower native resolution and then intelligently upscales the output， enhancing visual clarity and reducing GPU load， which significantly boosts performance and detail. This technology is set to be supported by “Fluffy Meow.”
Furthermore， Qualcomm’s Adaptive Performance Engine 4.0 works in conjunction with features like Snapdragon Game Color Pictures (which deeply optimizes CPU and GPU performance) to intelligently allocate resources in high-demand gaming scenarios. This improves performance while also extending battery life， a crucial factor for mobile gamers.
The popular game “League of Legends: Wild Rift” is soon to support Snapdragon Game Color Pictures. In its ultimate graphics mode， it will achieve a stable 120 FPS while reducing device power consumption by a notable 16.36%.
So， why is Qualcomm so devoted to ChinaJoy? The company’s consistent and significant presence suggests a strategic imperative to connect with a vital market and showcase its technological prowess directly to the gaming community.
During the 2025 Snapdragon Gaming Technology Showcase， Hou Mingjuan， Senior Vice President of Qualcomm Technologies， Inc.， emphasized Snapdragon’s unwavering commitment to advancing the mobile gaming and digital entertainment industries. This statement highlights Qualcomm’s long-term vision and investment in these sectors.
Gaming represents one of the most demanding applications for mobile SoCs， and Snapdragon is recognized as a leading platform for gaming smartphones. ChinaJoy， being China’s most prominent， expansive， and long-standing comprehensive gaming exhibition， offers a natural and synergistic platform for Qualcomm to demonstrate its capabilities and engage with its target audience.
In line with this， Qualcomm has adopted the slogan “All-Hearted Passion” this year， inviting players to join the grand event and fully immerse themselves in the boundless enjoyment of mobile gaming. This slogan reflects a desire for shared enthusiasm and engagement with the gaming community.
Alex Katouzian， Senior Vice President and General Manager of Mobile， Compute， and XR at Qualcomm Technologies， Inc.， stated that Snapdragon is redefining the mobile gaming experience. His remarks highlighted the platform’s exceptional compute and graphics performance， immersive audio， groundbreaking AI capabilities， and top-tier connectivity， all of which power the world’s leading devices. This underscores Qualcomm’s focus on delivering a holistic gaming experience beyond raw performance.
He also provided updates on the “Snapdragon Pro Series，” co-hosted by ESL Gaming and Qualcomm. This professional mobile esports competition has achieved remarkable growth.
In just three years， the Snapdragon Pro Series has garnered over 5 million registered active players， attracted nearly 2.4 million offline spectators， and garnered over 2 billion online views， establishing itself as one of the largest comprehensive mobile esports events globally. The rapid expansion of this tournament series indicates a successful strategy for promoting mobile esports and Snapdragon’s role within it.
The King Pro League (KPL)， as the highest-tier professional esports competition for “Honor of Kings，” also holds significant importance. The 2024 season features 170 match days， with its finals alone drawing over 40，000 offline spectators. The continued success of KPL highlights the enduring popularity and professionalization of mobile esports.
As the official device for the KPL for seven years， iQOO has partnered with Qualcomm Snapdragon to consistently set new benchmarks in mobile esports， offering professional players and enthusiasts peak performance. This long-standing partnership demonstrates the synergy between device manufacturers， chip providers， and esports events.
Currently， there are 184 flagship phone designs based on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3， along with 4 gaming tablets. These devices represent the most powerful Android gaming hardware available on the market and are all widely available in China.
In the realm of AI PCs， Qualcomm’s latest venture， the Snapdragon X Elite/Plus， has secured over 85 product designs across various OEMs and price points， with projections to exceed 100 designs by next year. This indicates a strong industry adoption and confidence in Qualcomm’s entry into the PC market.
Beyond their productivity capabilities， Snapdragon X series notebooks are also proving to be capable gaming platforms. Over 1，200 games can currently run smoothly in full HD on these laptops， supported by deep collaborations and optimizations with Unreal Engine 5 from Epic Games.
In terms of the domestic application ecosystem， Qualcomm has partnered with Tencent App Store to optimize hundreds of games and applications for Snapdragon X series laptops. Furthermore， Qualcomm has collaborated with Tencent’s Game Security ACE team to provide localized， high-performance security solutions for PC games like “Valorant.”
Notably， Snapdragon X series laptops will soon support Easy Anti-Cheat， a crucial step in ensuring cross-platform gaming fairness and a consistent player experience， while significantly expanding game compatibility and support on the Snapdragon platform.
At this year’s ChinaJoy， attendees can experience Snapdragon X series laptops from ASUS， Lenovo， Microsoft， Honor， and Dell firsthand， playing popular titles such as “Contra，” “Party Animals，” “The Wanderer: Legacy，” and “Three Phase Tales.”
XR (Extended Reality) has always been a domain where Qualcomm invests heavily. Despite ongoing challenges in technology and user experience， the immense potential of XR is undeniable.
To date， there have been over 100 XR product designs based on the Snapdragon XR platform， with a particular surge in various smart glasses and AI glasses this year， making them a key area to watch.
For instance， Xiaomi’s recently launched Xiaomi AI Glasses， personally overseen by Lei Jun， are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 chip and the BES2700H low-power processing chip. The inclusion of a Snapdragon logo on the side further highlights the partnership and the chip’s integral role.
Handheld gaming consoles have also experienced a boom in recent years， and Qualcomm has actively participated with its third-generation Snapdragon G3 platform. This platform features an 8-core Kryo CPU (1+5+2 configuration)， an Adreno A32 GPU with hardware ray tracing， and FastConnect 7800 wireless connectivity (Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3)， supporting QHD+ 144Hz displays to meet demands for high resolution and refresh rates. This signifies Qualcomm’s commitment to enabling premium handheld gaming experiences.
This platform has already been adopted by devices like the AYANEO Pocket S2 and the OneXPlayer Mini Pro 2. More products are expected to emerge soon， further expanding the market for high-performance handheld gaming devices.
attendees can experience these two handheld consoles firsthand at this year’s ChinaJoy.
Additionally， other handheld consoles utilizing mainstream Snapdragon platforms offer even greater value and accessibility to everyday users， catering to a broader segment of the gaming market.
Finally， as a preview， the annual Snapdragon Technology Summit will be held again in Hawaii from September 23-25. Our team will provide timely on-site reports.
