Otome games, or otoge, are romance-focused games tailored for women. For many players, the experience extends well beyond the screen. They expand their social circles on platforms like WeChat and QQ, hunt for exclusive merchandise on Taobao and Idle Fish (also known as Xianyu), and participate in “voting campaigns” on Weibo by liking, sharing, and commenting to elevate their favorite characters’ rankings.
An intriguing trend is the significant overlap between Xiaohongshu’s user base and otome gamers. While otoge players frequent various platforms, Xiaohongshu has become indispensable, offering a space for emotional expression and an interactive atmosphere that resonates deeply with users.
In 2024, China’s otome gaming market was buzzing. Papergames’ Love and Deepspace dominated the iPhone revenue charts in mainland China from late 2023, surpassing giants like Tencent’s Honor of Kings and Dungeon & Fighter Mobile as well as ByteDance’s Douyin.
This surge reflects the rapid growth of female-oriented games. Frost & Sullivan reported that the market for such games reached RMB 95.8 billion (USD 13.4 billion) in 2023, an 11% year-on-year increase. The share of female-focused games in the total gaming market grew from 19% in 2018 to 32% in 2023. Xiaohongshu’s internal data further underscored this trend, with searches for female-oriented games soaring 304% in the first three quarters of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
A Xiaohongshu user who frequently posts otome-themed content shared: “When I’m busy, I mainly browse related content on Xiaohongshu. The comment sections are always so welcoming.” The platform’s appeal lies in its egalitarian user-generated content ecosystem, where both influencers and everyday users can gain visibility.
For example, Momo (pseudonym), a Xiaohongshu user, recounted her experience commissioning a cosplayer to portray her favorite character for an offline gathering. In a heartfelt, thousand-word post, she described grappling with the divide between reality and fiction, which led her to therapy. Her therapist reassured her, saying, “Loving paper people isn’t absurd—it’s about seeking new outlets.”
Momo’s story struck a chord, garnering over 1,550 likes and 162 comments, many of them long and empathetic. Despite having only 20 followers and two posts, her content resonated widely, illustrating Xiaohongshu’s emphasis on quality over follower count. The platform’s demographics align closely with the otome gaming audience: 70% of its users are women, with half born after 1995 and 35% after 2000. Similarly, Jiguang data indicates that 90% of otoge players are under 30, with most aged 18–24.
Xiaohongshu’s influence isn’t limited to otome gamers. With 300 million monthly active users—approximately one-fifth of China’s population—the platform is poised to expand its reach to broader gaming audiences. “The momentum of otome games gives Xiaohongshu immense potential,” a gaming industry professional told 36Kr. In terms of content marketing, established platforms like Douyin, Kuaishou, WeChat, and Weibo dominate, but Xiaohongshu is emerging as a significant middle ground for game-related marketing.
As gaming traffic poured into Xiaohongshu, the platform actively embraced the opportunity, refining its strategies to cater to this audience. Its unique blend of user-generated content, emotional resonance, and tailored marketing positions it as a rising star in the gaming and social media landscape.
Finding its second wind in games
A search for “otome games” on Xiaohongshu brings up tags for popular titles like Love and Deepspace and Light and Night, alongside less known games such as For All Time and Moonshadow Villa. In contrast, Douyin’s search system prioritizes only the most popular games, making Xiaohongshu’s detailed presentation a valuable resource for targeted advertising and niche audience engagement.
In July 2023, the release of the character Qin Che in Love and Deepspace created a buzz within the community. Seizing the moment, the game’s official team launched a creator incentive program on Xiaohongshu. Users reported that even posts with a handful of likes earned monetary rewards, with some contributors claiming to have made thousands of RMB by sharing content about the game. This initiative highlights Xiaohongshu’s emergence as a critical platform for promoting otome games.
Xiaohongshu’s gaming ambitions are not limited to the otome genre. In July 2024, the platform made its debut at the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference (ChinaJoy), one of the country’s largest gaming expos. At the event, Xiaohongshu hosted an exclusive, invitation-only gathering for gaming industry professionals, where it unveiled tailored solutions for game developers and publishers.
The platform has also forged partnerships with mainstream games. During the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2024, Xiaohongshu collaborated with Battle of the Golden Spatula to host a female-exclusive tournament. According to DataEye, a game data analytics firm, Xiaohongshu dominated the entertainment advertising category in October 2024 with 543,000 ad placements, surpassing Douyin. These campaigns included promotions for high-engagement titles such as Tencent’s Yuan Meng Star and Honor of Kings.
By integrating major game titles into its content ecosystem, Xiaohongshu is not only solidifying its position as a promotional hub for otome games but also actively attracting a broader gaming audience. Its unique approach to blending niche and mainstream content is reshaping its role in China’s gaming and advertising industries.
Unrealized potential?
Despite Xiaohongshu’s ambitions to expand its footprint in gaming, its influence in non-otome genres remains limited. A representative from a leading Chinese game publisher explained that while the platform holds clear appeal for specific demographics—such as female users and fans of anime culture—it has not yet reached the level of significance needed for publishers to prioritize it in their marketing strategies.
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On the execution side, Xiaohongshu often takes a back seat in influencer marketing campaigns. An industry insider noted that platforms like Douyin typically command far larger budgets, with campaigns frequently surpassing hundreds of thousands of RMB. In contrast, Xiaohongshu campaigns often receive budgets capped at just a few thousand RMB. This disparity discourages key opinion consumers from taking on Xiaohongshu projects, as the financial returns are less attractive.
Xiaohongshu’s smaller traffic pool compared to platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou is another significant hurdle. In an increasingly data-driven environment, where performance indicators like return on investment (ROI) and cost per mille (CPM) dominate decision-making, Xiaohongshu struggles to compete. Several marketers have emphasized that Xiaohongshu excels more at content seeding—generating awareness and organic interest—than driving direct conversions. As one marketer explained, “Xiaohongshu isn’t suited for purely performance-driven campaigns focused on metrics like cost per acquisition (CPA) and ROI. Instead, it’s better for word-of-mouth marketing that influences purchase decisions over time.”
While this positioning has proven effective for otome games, it has yet to translate into broader gaming categories. With Douyin and Kuaishou offering larger traffic pools and faster conversion cycles, Xiaohongshu faces steep competition in carving out a distinctive role in game-related marketing.
Additionally, Xiaohongshu’s ecosystem appears better suited for fostering engagement within established communities rather than converting new users. As one otoge player put it, “I browse otome game content on Xiaohongshu because it’s the social app I use most, but I don’t feel that game promotions there influence me much.”
For Xiaohongshu, expanding beyond otome games and proving its ability to attract diverse gaming audiences remains an uphill battle. While the platform’s potential is undeniable, realizing that potential will require addressing its current limitations in traffic scale, performance metrics, and ROI visibility.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Lan Jie for 36Kr.