China's online gaming industry is recovering from a slump that started in 2010, and its market scale is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan ($15.9 billion) by the end of 2015, the Ministry of Culture said on Friday.

The market scale reached 46.85 billion yuan ($7.4 billion) by the end of 2011, a 34.4 percent increase year-on-year, according to the ministry, the industry's regulatory body.

"The market revived last year as its total revenue continued to expand and exports increased," said the ministry.

The industry's growth rate is expected to be between 20 and 25 percent over the next three years, which means the market scale could reach 82.6 billion yuan by 2014, Analysys International estimated earlier this year.

Chinese developers exported 92 new online games in the past year, which brought the total number of exported games to more than 150, according to the ministry.

Starting from 2010, the nation's leading online game developers, such as Shanda Games, The9 Ltd and Giant Interactive Group Inc, have announced their own overseas strategies for their online gaming businesses. Major overseas markets include South Korea and Vietnam.

Visitors wait in line at the ChinaJoy Expo, also known as the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference, in Shanghai, last July. [Photo/Agencies]