Targeting China’s gamer mecca, Samsung Display establishes the industry’s first QD-OLED certified venues

[Financial News] Samsung Display Co., Ltd. plans to expand its network of QD-OLED certified venues at internet cafes in China to 60 by the end of the year. The initiative aims to give gamers more opportunities to try playing games on QD-OLED monitors at internet cafes, which account for 30–40% of gaming OLED monitor sales in China.
Samsung Display Co., Ltd. said on the 5th that it is running a promotion with six monitor brands, including AOC, ASUS, HKC, MSI, Titan Army and ViewSonic, to designate Chinese internet cafes known as “i-cafes” as QD-OLED certified venues.
By the end of last October, 10 high-traffic venues in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai had been designated as certified venues. The company said this was the first collaboration of its kind between the display industry and internet cafes.
To qualify, an internet cafe must have at least 30 QD-OLED monitors installed. Selected venues will put up signs and banners bearing the QD-OLED logo and display the logo on items such as keyboards and mouse pads.
According to China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the number of internet cafes in the country grew 17%, from around 83,000 in 2024 to around 97,000 last year. Figures from market research firm IDC show that gaming monitor sales in China rose from 4.93 million units in 2023 to 11.12 million last year. Over the same period, sales of self-emissive gaming monitors increased about 22-fold, from 25,000 to 560,000 units.
Industry sources say QD-OLED monitors are particularly praised by first-person shooter (FPS) players for their ability to show dark scenes clearly. The company said that after dedicated areas were set up, premium seats equipped with QD-OLED monitors sometimes filled up before regular seats.
Yongwook Jung, executive director and head of the Strategic Marketing Team in Samsung Display Co., Ltd.’s Large Display Business, said, “This QD-OLED certified venue promotion will be an important opportunity to let Chinese gamers know that QD-OLED is a display technology optimized for high-spec gaming monitors.” He added, “We will continue to strengthen QD-OLED’s position in the premium gaming display market through a variety of local marketing activities.”

[email protected] Park Ji-yeon Reporter