Chinese regulators released a list of 60 newly approved domestic titles (in Chinese) on Tuesday after another approval pause in May, including titles from notable gaming firms like HoYoverse (formerly known as miHoYo) and Perfect World. In April, the regulators resumed approving new games for the first time in eight months.
Why it matters: China’s National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) usually releases a list of approved gaming titles monthly. With no games approved for May, gaming firms seeking to bring new titles online continue to face uncertainty.
Details: The NPPA, China’s government department for publishing news, films, and games, gave licenses to 60 new games in June.
- 58 of the 60 listed titles are for mobile platforms (including tablets). The other two are a web game and a client game targeted mainly at desktop users. In comparison, 40 of the 45 approved titles in April were made for mobile platforms.
- The list also didn’t include any titles for console platforms like Xbox, Playstation, and the Nintendo Switch.
- A new title from HoYoverse, developer of the globally popular game Genshin Impact, was approved for June. In addition, Perfect World, the operator of Dota 2 on the Chinese mainland, received a license for an Otome game, a story-based game targeted at women.
- Of the titles approved, 16 are designated as being in the “beta” phase, indicating that a new policy issued last August that allows local governments to approve games in the beta phase has come into effect.
Context: The NPPA’s eight-month halt on the issuance of new gaming licenses had major ramifications for the gaming industry in China, causing a sharp decline in the growth rate of the industry, as well as the downsizing of major players in China’s gaming sector.
- As a result of this uncertainty and stricter policies around teenage gamers in China, gaming companies like Tencent and NetEase began more aggressive expansion overseas as their local business slowed.
- There are still no signs of relief for overseas titles in China to get approvals; the last batch to be licensed was June 2021.