DOMESTIC game developers will speed up development of mobile games and push for overseas expansion as they unveiled their future plans at the opening summit of ChinaJoy, the country's biggest annual game conference and exhibition, yesterday.

Also, users of the popular WeChat, a mobile communication and social networking app, can look forward to enjoying popular games, including Temple Run and Fruit Ninja, with China features and elements, game developers and the app's Chinese operation partner said.

By the end of June, China's game industry revenue had reached 33.9 billion yuan (US$3.12 billion), a 36.4 percent growth year-on-year. The mobile game industry revenue more than doubled from a year ago to hit 2.53 billion yuan, industry officials said at the opening forum of the China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference, or ChinaJoy, which opens today at the Shanghai New International Expo Center and runs through Sunday.

"Mobile games and overseas expansion have become the two engines that will fuel development of the game industry," Sun Shoushan, vice director of the China General Administration of Press and Publication, Broadcasting, Film and Television, said.

Chinese game exports reached 2.95 billion yuan in the first six months, a 161.1 percent growth from a year ago, according to a report.

And WeChat, which has more than 400 million users in China, will boost its games collection, with titles like Temple Run, and add more interactive features, Keith Shepherd, chief executive of Imangi Studios, the developer of the Temple Run series, revealed at the forum.

Meanwhile, Shanda Games aims to establish two funds to invest in or acquire mobile game studios both at home and overseas, according to Zhang Xiangdong, president of the Shanghai-based firm.

Shanda will release more than 30 mobile games by the end of this year, representing its transition from a traditional game operator to a firm with competitive mobile games, Zhang said in an interview yesterday.