China's game industry remained strong in the first half of 2019, generating revenue of 116.31 billion yuan ($16.9 billion), with a 10.8 percent year-on-year increase, a new report said Tuesday.

Mobile gaming still remained the largest segment in the first half this year, producing revenue of more than 70 billion yuan, which comprised over 60 percent of the Chinese game market, according to the report released by the Chinese gaming database Gamma Data Corp.

Growth in mobile game revenue surged 18.8 percent year-on-year in the first half, compared to the 12.9 percent increase in the same period last year.

The number of Chinese game players hit a three-year high in the first half, surging 5.1 percent year-on-year to 554 million.

Gamma Data noted in the report that growth in the number of total players has mainly been boosted by the continuous increase of netizens and the growing need to convert short videos and other internet businesses into cash.

Among all players, more than half are aged under 25, especially those born after 1995 and in the 2000s. Compared to those born in the 1990s, those born in the 2000s are more active in the game market.

Specifically, the overseas market has become a key source of income for Chinese gaming companies. In the first six months, Chinese developers earned $5.73 billion in their self-designed online games in the overseas market, up 23.8 percent year-on-year.

Last year, China's game market suffered its slowest revenue growth in a decade, as local gaming regulators tightened their grip on a market that experts think is reaching a saturation point.

China's licensing freeze lasted nine months till December, contributing to 5.3 percent year-on-year growth in the country's game industry last year, compared to the 23 percent year-on-year increase in 2017, statistics from Gamma Data showed.

Based on the Global Games Market report, released by gaming analytics company Newzoo in June, the nine-month freeze has heavily impacted China, and as a result the Asia-Pacific region is no longer the fastest in growth.

According to the report, for the first time since 2015, the United States will overtake China to become the largest gaming market by global revenue with $36.9 billion this year.