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China seems to be opening up to online gaming. The change comes after the country has taken various measures against the online gaming sector in recent years. In 2021, regulators limited the amount of time children could spend on games to just three hours a week, expressing concern about addiction to video gaming. Approvals of new video games were suspended for about eight months but resumed in April 2022 as a broader crackdown on the entire technology industry was eased.
In a big change, the country’s authority in charge of press and publications has approved 105 online games.According to a report in news agency AP, the agency further said that it fully supports the industry after newly proposed curbs caused massive losses for major game companies. In a statement, the National Press and Publication Administration said that the approvals by the Game Working Committee of China Music and Digital Association were “positive signals that support the prosperity and healthy development of the online game industry.”
The list of games approved include Tencent’s “Counter War: Future” and NetEase’s “Firefly Assault” were among games approved.
The announcement reportedly comes just days after the draft guidelines for curbs on online gaming caused share prices of video game makers like Tencent and Netease to plunge, causing losses of tens of billions of dollars and dragging Chinese benchmarks lower.
The administration’s guidelines said that online games would be banned from offering incentives for daily log-ins or purchases. Other restrictions include limiting how much users can recharge and issuing warnings for “irrational consumption behavior.”
The Press and Publication Administration said that in 2023, 1,075 game version numbers had been issued, of which 977 were domestically produced and 98 were imported.
It also cited a “2023 China Game Industry Report” that it said showed sales revenue for the domestic online games market exceeded 300 billion yuan ($42 billion) in 2023, with the number of people playing the games reaching 668 million.
“The Game Working Committee hopes that member units will take this opportunity to launch more high-quality products, promote high-quality development of the online game industry, and contribute to promoting cultural prosperity and development and building a culturally powerful country,” it said.
In a big change, the country’s authority in charge of press and publications has approved 105 online games.According to a report in news agency AP, the agency further said that it fully supports the industry after newly proposed curbs caused massive losses for major game companies. In a statement, the National Press and Publication Administration said that the approvals by the Game Working Committee of China Music and Digital Association were “positive signals that support the prosperity and healthy development of the online game industry.”
The list of games approved include Tencent’s “Counter War: Future” and NetEase’s “Firefly Assault” were among games approved.
The announcement reportedly comes just days after the draft guidelines for curbs on online gaming caused share prices of video game makers like Tencent and Netease to plunge, causing losses of tens of billions of dollars and dragging Chinese benchmarks lower.
The administration’s guidelines said that online games would be banned from offering incentives for daily log-ins or purchases. Other restrictions include limiting how much users can recharge and issuing warnings for “irrational consumption behavior.”
The Press and Publication Administration said that in 2023, 1,075 game version numbers had been issued, of which 977 were domestically produced and 98 were imported.
It also cited a “2023 China Game Industry Report” that it said showed sales revenue for the domestic online games market exceeded 300 billion yuan ($42 billion) in 2023, with the number of people playing the games reaching 668 million.
“The Game Working Committee hopes that member units will take this opportunity to launch more high-quality products, promote high-quality development of the online game industry, and contribute to promoting cultural prosperity and development and building a culturally powerful country,” it said.
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