A dramatic overhaul to the regulation and licensing of digital games took place in China from March 2018-April 2019. For more information, see “Appendix - The backstory” at the end of this article. The State Administration of Press and Publications (SAPP), formed in 2018, introduced a new approval process for digital games on April 22, 2019, [...]
Last month we wrote about how Chinese lawmakers were looking to revise the Minor Protection Law to strengthen regulation around minors in online games. This week, China’s gaming regulator, the State Administration of Press and Publication, released a notice titled “Notice on preventing addiction among minors in online games”. The notice builds on top of existing [...]
Chinese lawmakers are considering a draft revision to the current Minor Protection Law that will strengthen the protection of minors both online and in the real world. The draft contains two new chapters on ‘Network Protection’ and ‘Government Protection’ and increases the number of items covered from 72 to 130. The Minor Protection Law was first [...]
China’s State Administration of Press and Publication (SAPP) held a conference on April 10th to communicate new rules and regulations regarding game publication in China. The SAPP was formed in April 2018 as the new gaming regulator in charge of game approvals in the country. Game publishers are required to submit games for content and monetisation [...]
As of March 29th, a total of 989 video games have received licenses since approvals restarted on December 19th. China’s new gaming regulator, the State Administration of Press and Publication (SAPP), halted approvals at the end of March 2018 for a period lasting nine months, to restructure and reform the licensing process. China’s government has taken [...]
China’s $33 billion per year digital games market was blanketed in worry during the nine month freeze on licenses that are mandatory in order to launch a game there. Worry came from investors, who thought that the freeze would result in lower earnings. It also came from game companies, who thought that they might never get [...]
An Online Game Ethics Committee has been established in Beijing under the guidance of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCPD). The newly established committee is formed of game experts and scholars who will evaluate whether certain games abide by the social values that China holds dear. China’s state [...]
Niko Partners has published an updated market model and 5-year forecast through 2022 for China’s PC Online and Mobile games market in Mainland China. 2018 games revenue has been adjusted downwards due to the ongoing temporary game approval freeze that started in April 2018. We now project total games revenue in China to reach $30.8 billion [...]
China’s digital games market has endured a temporary game licensing freeze since April 2018, which we explained in our blog post published on September 17, 2018. The cause is regulatory agency restructuring, and it has impacted all game companies operating in China. Tencent, previously a top 5 internet company globally by market cap, has lost over [...]
China is the largest games market in the world but has been hit by a temporary game approval freeze that has limited the number of new games being released this year. In addition, new regulations may be introduced that could lead to fewer games being approved for distribution in the future. China’s government is also taking [...]
