The 2025 Yuewen Global IP Awards, hosted by China Literature (Yuewen), concluded at MGM Cotai, bringing together over 1.000 creators and industry leaders from across the global entertainment industry.
The annual ceremony presented awards across 20 categories, recognizing outstanding achievements in online literature, IP adaptation, and emerging formats such as short-form drama, AI-animated dramas, and IP merchandise. The ceremony offered a comprehensive look at how Yuewen’s “IP + AI + Ecosystem” strategy is reshaping the creation, development, and commercialization of intellectual property.
Gen Z Writers Drive the Next Wave of Content Innovation
One of the clearest signals from this year’s awards is the rapid rise of a new generation of writers. According to Yuewen, 65% of newly contracted writers in 2025 were born after 1995. signaling a structural shift in the content creation landscape.
In the New Author of the Year segment, three post-95s writers—Awespec (author of Genetic Ascension ), Crane guards (author of Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect ), and The people from Ji Yue (author of The Immortal Mirror Clan )—took the stage.
The Influential Novels of the Year awards, based on long-standing reader voting mechanisms, recognized ten works spanning genres including fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction, and realism—underscoring both the diversity and depth of China’s online literature landscape.
Yuan Tong, a leading sci-fi writer, received the Outstanding Author of the Year honor. His work Embers of the Deep, previously awarded China’s Galaxy Award, is currently in development for animation adaptation, while his latest novel Dimensional Hotel was also named among the year’s most influential titles.
IP Adaptation at Scale Across Dramas, Animation, Games, and Audio
The awards also underscored Yuewen’s strength across the full IP value chain. According to EnlightEnt Data, in 2025. five of the top 10 most-streamed new long-form dramas in China were adapted from Yuewen IPs, while nine of the top 10 animated titles were based on its works.
Among the 12 works honored as Most Popular Adaptations of the Year, hit dramas such as A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality, In the name of Blossom, No Pain No Gain, The Glory, Coroner’s Diary captivated audiences; animated works including ARecord of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality: Return To Tiannan, Lord of Mysteries, Renegade Immortal, The Outcast 6. Way of Choices, topped the charts. In particular, the audio adaptation of Guardians of the Dafeng surpassed 10 billion plays, marking a milestone for long-form audio storytelling. The game Douluo Continent: Soul Hunting World also delivered strong commercial performance shortly after launch.
The Most Anticipated IP Adaptation of the Year category honored upcoming projects poised to become the next blockbusters, including film and television works Blossoms of Power, Escape To Your Heart, Us In Wonderland, Qiao Chu, We Live In Nanjing; animation works Spirit Realm Walker, Embers of the Deep, Ascension on a Chosen Day (working title); and gaming works Soul Land: Legend of Evil Slayer, The New LOM Mobile Game, Lord of Mysteries, The Hidden Ones.
