China Approves Foreign Videogames in Latest Breather for Tech Giants
Beijing regulators approve ‘Pokémon’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ titles, ending a suspension on foreign videogames dating to June 2021
SINGAPORE—China has resumed granting publishing approvals for foreign videogames, ending a halt stretching back to June 2021 and removing a source of uncertainty for the country’s once-flourishing videogame industry.
China’s main videogame regulator, the National Press and Publication Administration, said Wednesday that it had approved 45 imported titles, including “Pokémon Unite,” a multiplayer battle arena game co-developed by China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. TCEHY 3.90% and Japan’s The Pokémon Co., and Riot Games Inc.’s first-person shooter game “Valorant.”
One of the games on the list, “Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming,” a strategy game developed by Shanghai-headquartered Yoozoo Games Co. and licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, was approved in September, while the rest were licensed earlier this month, the regulator said in a statement.
The resumption of approvals for imported titles paves the way for game developers and publishers to cash in on some popular global titles in the world’s biggest mobile game market. In China, companies must seek government approval to charge players for a new game. Imported games have been an important source of income for large Chinese game companies.
In a separate statement on Wednesday, the industry regulator said it also granted licenses this month to 84 domestic games, including Tencent’s third-person shooter “Synced: Off-Planet.”
Including the games approved on Wednesday, Beijing has approved more than 500 videogames this year since it resumed the licensing process in April. The rate is lower than in previous years, when some 1,000 titles were greenlighted each year. Chinese regulators froze game licensing in July 2021 and unveiled strict new measures to limit players under age 18 to only one hour of videogames each Friday, Saturday and Sunday, plus public holidays.
Chinese videogame makers, including Tencent and smaller rival NetEase Inc., have shifted their focus to making fewer games with higher potential, given the limited number of government licenses available in China, as well as developing games for international markets.