Price War Continues in Gaming Monitors; TCL CSOT’s Zhao Jun: Competing on Experience Trumps Competing on Price

On August 1, the 22nd China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference (ChinaJoy) kicked off in Shanghai. Reporters from Southern Metropolis Daily’s Bay Finance learned on-site that as one of the most influential annual events in the global digital entertainment industry, this year’s exhibition attracted over 700 participating companies, spanning sectors such as gaming, animation, and esports hardware.

Among the many esports hardware products on display, high-performance gaming monitors—the most direct "window" for players—became a key focus for major manufacturers. Behind the bustling exhibition, the upstream gaming monitor industry is showing a clear divergence in trends:

On one hand, the market is experiencing rapid growth. Zhao Jun, Senior Vice President of TCL Technology and CEO of TCL CSOT, told Bay Finance and other media outlets that the global retail market for gaming monitors is expected to grow by 34% year-on-year in 2025, while the retail market for gaming laptops saw a 15% increase in the first half of the year.

In China’s online market specifically, data from RUNTO shows that sales of gaming monitors surged by 40% in the first half of 2025, with new technologies like OLED growing at an even faster rate of over 170%. On the other hand, the overall average market price fell by about 5% year-on-year during the same period, indicating increasingly fierce price competition.

Premiumization: The Growth Engine for Gaming Monitors

The demand for esports has become the core driver of the entire monitor market. International Data Corporation (IDC) noted in its report that the continuous upgrade of consumer market structures and the accelerated penetration of gaming monitors into the general office market are the key growth drivers. It predicts that China’s gaming monitor market will maintain a 12.4% year-on-year growth in 2025.

The high-end segment is seeing particularly strong momentum. According to TrendForce, driven by the high acceptance of OLED technology among esports players, global shipments of OLED monitor panels are expected to grow by 69% in 2025.

Analyzing the underlying reasons for this growth, Zhao Jun explained that TCL CSOT, for example, now holds over one-third of the global market share in gaming display panels. This success stems from its early adoption of core technologies like HVA, which precisely meet gamers’ demands for high refresh rates, high contrast ratios, and other key performance metrics. "It’s precisely because we have over a decade of technical expertise in HVA that applying this technology to gaming monitors has achieved a perfect fit," Zhao Jun said.

This trend is also shaping the strategic moves of leading manufacturers. Zhao Jun stated that beyond deepening its presence in the esports market, TCL CSOT has built a comprehensive technology platform covering HVA, IPS, and HFS through in-house development and acquisitions to meet the demands of different market segments, from entry-level to premium.