Nearly 500 enterprises have signed up for ChinaJoy in Shanghai in July

Photo provided by the interviewee shows people visiting ChinaJoy 2021 in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua)

SHANGHAI, June 1 (Xinhua) -- ChinaJoy, Asia's biggest games event held annually in Shanghai, is scheduled to run from July 28 to 31, attracting nearly 500 enterprises from 22 countries and regions so far, its organizing committee said on Wednesday.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the event's founding. Currently, the number of registered enterprises for the expo is still rapidly on the rise, reflecting the strong attraction of the Chinese market for global online entertainment and games companies.

More than 100 foreign companies from countries including the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, France, the United States, Japan, Singapore, Israel, and India, have signed up for this year's ChinaJoy. Foreign companies account for about one-third of all its exhibition applicants, said the organizer.

Notably, Qualcomm, Sony, Bandai Namco, AMD, Samsung and other world-renowned industry leaders will showcase their new digital entertainment products during the event in Shanghai.

This year's edition plans to highlight artificial intelligence (AI) elements. With an overall exhibition area of more than 120,000 square meters, the event will put various AI application scenarios and relevant products on display and set up a theme exhibition section on digital technology innovations for the first time.

ChinaJoy's sideline activity, China Game Developers Conference, will also host a special sub-forum on AI, inviting global experts to discuss the possible impact of AI technologies on game and digital entertainment innovations. Hundreds of online games from home and abroad are expected to debut in Shanghai during the expo as well.