Violent virtual fights to the death are the hottest video game trend in China and suppliers to the world’s largest gaming market are rushing to cash in despite the threat of censorship.

“Battle royale” games in which players are parachuted on to a virtual island for last-person-standing fights with realistic-looking weapons, have attracted millions of players this year in China, even though censors generally forbid violent games from being distributed. 

Gaming generates more than $24bn in annual sales, according to consultancy NewZoo. Tencent, the internet conglomerate which controls just over half the video game market in China, said more than 20m people had signed up for a soon-to-be-launched mobile-phone variation on the genre, which it refers to as survival games. The game is called Glorious Mission.