Chinese Gen Z: Between Dreams and Traditions

Esports is booming in China. However, Chinese Generation Z is cautious about pursuing a career in esports. But why? This study explains why GenZ's career choice is between a rock and a hard place.

Generation Z (Gen Z)—a generation born after 1996 and raised in a fully digitalized world that now enters universities and the workforce. Although growing up with the internet, social media, and everything that came with it, Chinese Gen Z still values the cultural norms of their homeland.

Even though the Chinese esports market contributes about 1/3 (1.38 billion USD) to the global revenue and user numbers continue to thrive, esports athletes "in China are often overlooked and even stigmatized" [1]. To top this off, one study suggested that there is a gap between supply and demand of talent in the industry. The data indicate that there is a talent shortfall of one million. To meet the demand, in 2016, the Ministry of Education introduced 'Esports and Management' as a new specialty in their catalog of higher education.

However, this trend isn't supported by everyone. As any frequent reader of the newsletter knows, gaming and esports can have many physical and psychological downsides. As an extreme example from China, in 2009 a Chinese doctor introduced electroshock therapy for internet addiction. This exemplifies how some parents express their concerns for their children and the values of the Chinese culture—education is the pathway to success. From their point of view, gaming and esports are a waste of time, and their children will neglect their studies and risk dropping out of school.

However, some young gamers wish to pursue the pathway of becoming a professional gamer. On a social media platform, the researchers analyzed a thread where young Chinese discussed below the post saying, 'My younger brother wants to quit high school to pursue a career as an esports player. Should I support him?’ The question got 7,811 users engaged and received over 4,699 answers, with a total of 16.17 million views. From the data, the responses with 1,000 likes or more were collected (373 in total).

🎲 1 in (a) 100 Million

Self-efficacy is the belief of every individual in their abilities, an inner "Can I do this?" compass. People avoid doing tasks that go beyond their capacities and do the ones they feel like they are able to control. In terms of Gen Zs and the dream of having a career in esports as professional players...

"They often form self-efficacy and career goals based on their good gaming performance. However, lacking direct work experience, they form a preliminary understanding of the industry through various information channels, leading to relatively rational self-assessments." [1]

From gathering the various information, their self-efficacy in pursuing a career in esports is lowered. Why? Let me explain, in China, there are over 100 million League of Legends players. However, the professional league (LPL) has only 106 esports players. Some of them are even foreign players. The probability of "making it" from an ordinary player to a professional player is rather slim. That's nothing new, though. The risk of pursuing a traditional career path is way lower. One user mentioned:

"Esports is much harsher than the college entrance examination. If the entrance exam is like thousands of troops crossing a single-log bridge, esports is like thousands of troops walking a tightrope... " [1]

A second element, besides self-efficacy, which the researchers found, was Gen Z's judgement about what outcomes they achieve by dropping out of school to become professional players.

🙋 Excuse Me, What's in there for Me?

"According to data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 86% of esports professionals earn salaries 1–3 times higher than the local average wage, making esports careers generally more lucrative than other employment options." [1]

It's not just the money. Esports often seems to have this appeal of becoming an overnight success—the underdog that rises to the top. This is supported by the rapid development of the Chinese economy (ok, not so much right now but up until a few years back) that sparks romanticized hopes and dreams in Gen Zs. The researchers argue that Gen Z players "might have excessively exaggerated or negative expectations about the outcome of pursuing a career in esports." [1] In short, they hope to achieve high income and social recognition through esports.

As you probably know, these expectations aren't going to materialize for 99.9% of the players. The sheer number of players that can easily replace you if you don't deliver makes it unrealistic to win big in esports. One user mentioned...

"For those who couldn’t turn professional and dropped out of school, unless they come from wealthy families, most become game trainers." [1]

📜 My Culture Says, I Like Stability

Personal goals mean that individuals engage in specific activities or have the intention to achieve a specific outcome. In the context of Gen Z's career choice to get into esports, they aim to drop out of school to become esports athletes.

"They tend to choose more stable or seemingly secure career paths to alleviate stress and gain external recognition. Pursuing a career in esports, a field that brings fame and success, contradicts the long-standing Chinese value of ‘education leads to success.’" [1]

However, a different part of Gen Z argued that pursuing a career in esports may be worth it, because giving it a shot for one or two years doesn't mean you're getting behind much in terms of a traditional career path. In addition, pursuing their dreams and individual values is a characteristic in GenZ.

But then again, in the Chinese culture, social norms and family expectations are high and contribute to Gen Z being cautious about going off the rails by choosing esports as a career path.

"Overall, dropping out of school to become an esports player is not seen as a rational choice. However, they also recognize the importance of personal interests and dreams, breaking away from the constraints of traditional career notions and reflecting a stronger individualistic tendency." [1]

Wish you all a great week. See you next Sunday,

Christian 🙂

References

[1] Luo et al., 2025