OVC's creative industry base: Hubei's animation and gaming haven

The Optics Valley Creative Industry Base in the Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone (Optics Valley of China, or OVC) has nurtured over 200 animation and gaming enterprises, accounting for approximately 70 percent of Hubei province's total, making it the province's first national-level incubator for animation and gaming industries.

The Optics Valley Creative Industry Base. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

Over the past five years, companies like 2:10 Animation, Boruntong, and Zhuoxun Hudong have swiftly grown in stature. They have produced renowned works such as I Am Jiang Xiaobai and established themselves as industry leaders. Notably, 2:10 Animation contributed to the production of the recent blockbuster Chinese film Ne Zha 2, which topped the box office charts.

The base hosts 129 related enterprises, with animation and gaming companies comprising nearly half, where over 3,100 entrepreneurs are crafting their animation and gaming careers.

2:10 Animation. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

To drive industry growth, the base has partnered with Aliyun to establish a cloud platform offering startups private cloud services. The base has also set up an investment and financing platform to help enterprises scale up, and over 50 projects have already been funded.

"It can be said that the animation and gaming industry ecosystem achieves self-sustaining growth here. Startups can always find the resources and partners they need," said Dong Siyi, general manager of the base.

OVC boasts 75 incubators, including the Optics Valley Creative Industry Base. Of these, 28 are national-level, accounting for 52 percent of Wuhan city's total. These innovative platforms focus on supporting and nurturing entrepreneurial teams and serving as strong backing for startup ventures across various industries.