Douyu is a game-centric livestreaming platform in China, where users watch streamers play video games — ranging from eSports to casual and mobile titles — and interact in real time through live chat and virtual gifting. Douyu monetizes primarily through virtual gifts: viewers buy virtual currency and send gifts to streamers, with Douyu splitting that revenue with the streamer. Advertising — both brand ads and integrated streamer promotions — is a secondary revenue stream, with Douyu controlling all ad contracts directly. Tencent, which owns roughly 40% of Douyu, is a key partner, providing streaming infrastructure and game content promotion tied to its dominant Chinese gaming portfolio. Douyu's business has been shifting materially: livestreaming revenue has fallen from 87% of total revenue in FY23 to around 57% in FY25, while an "innovative business" segment — covering voice-based social networking, game memberships, and advertising — has grown to roughly 43%. Douyu's current strategy prioritizes profitability over growth. The company has been cutting expensive long-term exclusive streamer contracts, pulling back on eSports broadcast rights spending, and reducing aggressive user acquisition. Mobile MAUs fell from 44.5M in Q4 2024 to 27.6M in Q4 2025, a decline Douyu frames as intentional — trading raw user counts for a more organically engaged, paying core user base.