No new video game licenses were issued in China last month. This breaks a string of 269 approved licenses that were given out between June and September.
Prior to this announcement, analysts believed that China’s gaming approval process had returned to normal following an eight-month-long freeze that ended this past April. However, the South China Morning Post is saying that the absence of new approvals “was unexpected.”
At this time, the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), the agency responsible for licensing Chinese video games, has not yet officially released its annual list of approved imported video games. As a result, games developed by foreign companies cannot launch or operate their titles in China.
“There is no need to worry about the immediate impact of a one-month delay, because there is a relatively long period between the granting of a license and [the launch of] the actual product,” said Zhang Yi, the CEO of iiMedia Research. “However, the regulator’s method of regulating the market through controlling the number of new game licenses is likely to become the norm.”
Recently, Niko Partners published a report that shows the Chinese video game market is expected to shrink for the first time in 20 years. China’s domestic gaming revenues are expected to fall by 2.5% year-over-year in 2022.
(All information was provided by GamesIndustry.biz and South China Morning Post)
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