sandalwood

Abstract: Driven by policies and esports events, the gaming headset market is expanding. In Q2 2025, online sales reached 4.25 million units (+38%) with revenue of 890 million RMB (+50%). The core audience consists of young users who both play and watch esports. Diverse usage scenarios and increased female participation are driving a tiered upgrade in price segments, with the 200–300 RMB range growing rapidly. Leading brands remain relatively concentrated, accounting for 71% of the market. Douyin leverages content loops and live streaming to shorten the conversion cycle. Noticeable technological advantages are accelerating the upgrade of headsets from simple “accessories” to essential “gear.”

Policy and Esports Dual-Drive Propel Gaming Headsets into a Rapid Growth Lane

Over the past two years, China’s esports sector has accelerated from a niche interest to mainstream consumption:

• Policy Support: In 2024, the State Council’s Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Development of Service Consumption explicitly supported esports, social e-commerce, and live-stream e-commerce.
• Event Recognition: The Hangzhou Asian Games included esports as an official medal event, and cities such as Shanghai have continuously introduced local support policies, enhancing societal acceptance.
• Industry Growth: According to the 2024 China Esports Industry Report by the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, China’s esports market achieved 27.568 billion RMB in actual revenue and reached approximately 490 million users in 2024. The recovery of events and offline activities has driven sustained growth in the domestic esports headset market.

According to Sandalwood’s China e-commerce monitoring data, in Q2 2025, domestic esports headset sales reached 4.25 million units (+38% YoY) with revenue of 890 million RMB (+50% YoY).

Headsets have evolved from simple audio tools to multi-scenario devices, serving commuting, fitness, office/study, content creation, and competitive esports where they are crucial for performance.

In the esports segment, headsets now address five core demands:

• Clear Voice Communication: High SNR and intelligent noise cancellation ensure flawless team coordination.
• Precise Spatial Positioning: HRTF-based modeling allows players to detect subtle sounds in rapidly changing battles.
• Environmental Adaptability: Maintains immersion and intelligibility in complex settings.
• Comfort and Health Design: Long-term wearability with low-latency, high-performance transmission (≤20ms) ensures millisecond-level sync between audio and visuals.

In summary, esports headsets are upgrading from mere accessories to professional-grade equipment.

User Profile Reshapes Price Tier Landscape:: Volume at Entry-Level, Value in Mid-Range, and Momentum in Premium

The core users of esports headphones are mainly concentrated among the younger generation, who are not only deeply involved in PC/console games but also actively engaged in live streaming and event content, forming a dual profile of "both playing and watching."

The popularization of mobile esports and the inclusion of female players have diversified usage scenarios from competition to commuting and socializing. It is these changes in demographics and scenarios that determine differentiated consumption paths:

• The demand for initial trials and replacements supports a large base, so products priced below 200 yuan remain mainstream, although their market share has slightly decreased from 71% to 66%.
• As users move from "trial" to their first performance upgrade, demands for low latency, noise cancellation, and comfort increase, driving the 200-300 yuan segment to expand rapidly, from 13% to 19%.
• The segments priced at 300-500 yuan and above 500 yuan cater to advanced players and brand preference, with relatively stable audiences fluctuating within a small range of 8% and 7%, respectively.

Therefore, user profiles determine usage scenarios, which in turn shape price zones: entry-level for volume, mid-range for growth, and high-end for stability.

The Top Ten Account for 71%, the Top Three Nearly 40%: Market Concentration Reaches New Heights"

In the second quarter of 2025, the combined share of the top ten brands reached 71%, while the rest of the small and medium-sized brands still held 29% of the market, indicating a relatively concentrated market at the top.

Among these, the top three brands—XIBERIA, EDIFIER, and IKF—accounted for nearly 40% of the market, forming the core strength of the industry:

• XIBERIA has gained popularity among young gamers with its cost-effective gaming headsets (models K03S, S21).
• EDIFIER’s representative products in the gaming sector are the G series headsets, which focus on surround sound and comfortable wear.
• IKF offers gaming headsets (models V11 Pro, KING series) that integrate noise cancellation with clear voice functionality, emphasizing lightweight design and practicality.

Brands ranked 4th to 10th hold shares ranging from 4% to 8%. Notably, MISHENG, as a sub-brand of IKF, along with Maicong, have shown outstanding performance. Products such as Maicong’s V9 Pro and G9 Pro have contributed significantly to its rapid growth.

Overall, leading brands are continuously consolidating their market positions through differentiated product offerings.

Content-Transaction Closed Loop: Amplifying the Growth of Esports Headphones

Content e-commerce platforms are rapidly growing, with Douyin, as a new representative of e-commerce, seeing an 87% YoY growth in Q2 2025, significantly outpacing the average growth rate and increasing its market share to nearly 20%. JD.com, Tmall, and Pinduoduo grow at the same pace as the overall market.

Douyin accelerates sales of gaming headsets within its platform through an integrated content-to-transaction loop (content-search-mall) combined with live-streaming validation capabilities. Content is precisely matched to "gaming audiences" based on interests, where reviews, unboxing, and live demonstrations clearly showcase features like low latency, mic noise cancellation, and accurate sound positioning.

Live commerce places buyers and sellers in the same scenario, facilitating real-time Q&A and on-the-spot testing, ensuring information symmetry and immediate decision-making. Users can search, compare, and purchase directly within the app, completing the journey from interest to purchase almost instantly.

Furthermore, Douyin's rich game content and user ecosystem provide high-density touchpoints for "eSports enthusiasts," complemented by trade-in offers, competitive pricing, and after-sales services, systematically lowering the threshold for high-ticket purchases.

This creates the shortest path from "systematic recommendation to finding customers, video demonstration of products, to efficient conversion via in-app search and mall," setting Douyin apart from other platforms regarding gaming headsets.

Conclusion: The industry is entering a phase of "deterministic growth + structural reshaping." Changes in demographics drive scenario expansion, shaping price tiers and technology thresholds. Brands that effectively demonstrate perceptible performance improvements (better positioning, clearer communication, immersive experience, low latency, comfortable wear) through video and efficiently convert viewers will lead the transition from "accessories to gear." The mid-price segment becomes the primary growth driver, with leading and emerging brands leveraging differentiation and content e-commerce synergy to propel gaming headsets into a clearer fast lane.