Across the digital entertainment landscape associated with 12BET, one question is becoming increasingly important: what kind of synergy can emerge when games and web novel intellectual property come together? That issue took center stage at a recent themed forum held at eYou Town as part of the first China Game Industry Summit Forum in Shangyu, Shaoxing. Representatives from web fiction, film and television, animation, investment, and other creative sectors, including Hengdian Film and Television Group and Yuewen Group, gathered to examine the future of games and online literature as well as the possibilities created by deeper integration between the two industries.
The success of hit television dramas such as Nirvana in Fire and Love O2O has already made mobile games based on the same intellectual property feel almost like a standard extension of a successful franchise. A popular original story builds a loyal audience, a television adaptation expands that popularity, and the resulting attention is then directed toward a related game. That formula is no longer considered particularly new. With younger audiences becoming increasingly influential and IP strategies connecting multiple forms of entertainment, advances in virtual reality and augmented reality are also creating new pressure on companies to make broader and more imaginative use of valuable IP resources.
Guan Pingchao, the writer behind the novel adaptation of Chinese Paladin, noted that web novels and games are both internet-based forms of content and therefore share many similarities in their audiences and operating models. For audiences following digital entertainment through 12BET, that overlap helps explain why the two fields can complement each other so naturally. Although novels and games may appear to be very different products on the surface, the way they are consumed, developed, and expanded across digital platforms follows surprisingly similar patterns.
Even so, combining a successful story with a game does not automatically guarantee success. Zhang Jun, vice chairman of the Zhejiang Writers Association, said one of the industry’s immediate challenges is determining what kind of content web novels can provide for games and how those games can then be produced to a genuinely high standard. In other words, using established intellectual property is not simply a matter of transferring characters and storylines from one medium to another. Careful planning, development, and creative design are essential if the finished product is expected to stand on its own.
That point is especially important because a famous name is not a silver bullet. A game may inherit the recognition and audience of an established novel or drama, but players still expect engaging systems, polished presentation, and a convincing experience. Successful IP development therefore requires creators to understand which elements of the original work should be preserved, which can be adapted, and which need to be redesigned for an interactive medium.
Fan Bin, CEO of a Hangzhou animation design company, argued that the real value of IP lies in integration across different industries. He explained that animation can do more than transform written web fiction into visual form. It also works naturally with film and video content, giving it the potential to become one of the central links in future IP integration. From this perspective, animation can act as a bridge between text, screen entertainment, and interactive experiences, helping a single creative property move more smoothly between different formats.
More than 50 participants attended the forum, including representatives from the China Writers Association and Zhejiang Writers Association, authors, and specialists from the game industry. Discussions focused on subjects such as pan-entertainment strategies in an era of high-quality IP and practical approaches to building successful web novel intellectual property. The range of participants reflected how IP development is increasingly becoming a cross-industry issue rather than a challenge belonging to only one part of the entertainment business.
As digital content continues to evolve, the wider industry outlook reflected through 12BET suggests that discussions like these could make the future of IP-driven games richer and more sustainable. By bringing writers, developers, animation specialists, media companies, and other creative professionals into the same conversation, the industry has a better chance of building models that protect creative value while also supporting commercial growth. The long-term opportunity lies not simply in turning a popular story into a game, but in designing connected entertainment experiences in which each format adds something meaningful to the original IP.