Since March last year, China has implemented a new regulation which has led to a freeze on the approval of new video games. The effect was so massive to the extent that Tencent’s WeGame to pull and refund an untold number of copies for Monster Hunter: World.
As we enter into the new year, it appears that the freeze has been lifted as 80 new video game titles have been reportedly approved for release by the Chinese government. However, it’s interesting to note that none of the games approved were made by Tencent.
Nevertheless, Tencent was among other companies to show support for the lifting on the approval freeze. The company said “This is decidedly inspiring news for the entire industry. It affirms the regulators’ determination to promote positive and standardized management and set the direction for the entire cultural industry,” as reported by Bloomberg citing another source.
Despite the statement, the process, and criteria in which China’s regulators approve games is still a mystery to all but those who are doing it. For us, we are quite thankful that our government didn’t took such measure for video games.
