China Eases video Game Regulations by Allowing Imports
2022.12.28 13:08
China Eases video Game Regulations by Allowing Imports
Budrigannews.com – On Wednesday, China’s regulator for video games granted publishing licenses to 45 foreign games for release in the country, easing the industry’s 18-month-old restrictions.
According to a list that the regulator released, five games that will be published by Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) are among the imported online games that have been approved by the National Press and Publication Administration. These games include “Pokémon Unite” by Nintendo (7974.T) and “Valorant” by Riot Games.
A separate list that was released on Wednesday indicates that the regulator also approved 84 domestic games for the month of December.
Beijing’s crackdown on the video game industry, which began in August when regulators suspended the game approval process, effectively comes to an end with the approval of imported games.
In April, the approval of foreign games was seen as the final regulatory restriction to be lifted before licenses for domestic games were issued again.
Dissimilar to in most different nations, computer games need endorsement from controllers before discharge in China, the world’s biggest gaming market.
Tencent and NetEase Inc (9999.HK), two Chinese tech companies that derive a significant amount of revenue from publishing both self-developed and imported games, have suffered significantly as a result of Beijing’s year-long crackdown on the industry.
According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Tencent, the largest gaming company in the world, received six licenses in December through various affiliated businesses.
Last month, Tencent received its first commercial game license in more than a year and a half. At the time, this was seen as a significant sign that the industry would see policy normalization.
“Gwent: The Movie” by CD Projekt Red (CDR.WA) is one of the other approved imported games. “Don’t Starve” by Klei Entertainment and “The Witcher Card Game.”
In December, game approvals were also granted to NetEase, ByteDance, XD Inc (2400.HK), and iDreamSky (1119.HK), in addition to Tencent.
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Certainly, there are fewer licenses issued this year than in previous years. In 2017, 456 imported games were approved by China, 76 in 2021.
Pony Ma, Tencent’s founder, stated at a meeting this month to celebrate the end of the year that the company needs to adjust to Beijing’s stringent licensing policy and that the number of new games China will approve will remain limited in the long run.
