China gaming ban: Beijing issues licences to 44 imported games, first time in 18 months for approvals, with Tencent and NetEase included

The National Press and Publication Administration on Wednesday published its list of approved imported games, the first such batch since June 2021
Overall, the regulator issued 462 licences for domestic video games in 2022, down from 755 last year

Video gaming

Iris Dengin Shenzhen

Published: 8:12pm, 28 Dec 2022

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China has granted licences to 44 imported games, marking the first such batch of approvals in 18 months, providing a measure of relief to the world’s largest video gaming market amid tightened government regulation.

The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), the agency responsible for licensing video games in China, on Wednesday published its latest list of approved titles, which included submissions from the country’s top gaming companies Tencent Holdings and NetEase.

On the mainland, an imported game has to be “localised” by a Chinese company and vetted by Beijing’s censors before it can be made available to the country’s more than 700 million gamers across all platforms.

“The market has been anticipating imported games’ approval after [new] domestic games were approved in the past few months,” Jefferies equity analyst Thomas Chong said in a report on Wednesday.

Internet giant Tencent, which runs the world’s largest video gaming business by revenue, received licences for tactical shooter game Valorant from US developer Riot Games as well as for multiplayer online battle arena game Pokémon Unite published by The Pokémon Company.

NetEase obtained a licence for Fantasy Life, a role-playing simulation game published by Nintendo.

The NPPA’s latest imported game approvals ended a drought that stretched back to June 2021, when the regulator granted 76 licences.

The number of imported game approvals in China has been shrinking. Authorities in 2020 and 2019, for example, granted licences to 97 and 180 imported games, respectively.

The NPPA on Wednesday also published a list of 84 locally developed games that have been granted licences, the last such batch to get approvals this year.

Overall, the NPPA issued 462 licences for domestic video games in 2022, down from 755 last year.

The regulator’s imported game approvals mark the latest sign of a thaw in Beijing’s industry crackdown, which included a temporary freeze in new game approvals, keeping a tight grip on online content and restricting the playing time of gamers aged under 18.

The approvals also come more than a month after China’s semi-official gaming industry association declared an initial victory in reducing video game addiction among minors, which was one of the primary drivers of Beijing’s market crackdown.

The NPPA’s improved stance on approvals also brightens the prospects for US game publisher Blizzard Entertainment to continue supporting gamers in China with a new domestic partner. The US firm and NetEase in November agreed to end their 14-year licensing pact on January 23.

Tencent founder, chairman and chief executive Pony Ma Huateng, however, remains wary of the regulator’s direction. In a year-end meeting with company employees last week, Ma warned that the company’s video gaming division will continue to live under a stringent regulatory environment, and he expects regulators to keep a tight grip on the number of new game approvals.

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