"The quantity has exceeded last year's total," China approved 31 imported games
According to the website of the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong on August 30th, China has approved 31 imported games such as Avatar and Lord of the Rings, bringing the total number of games in 2023 to exceed last year.
According to reports, China's electronic game regulatory authorities recently approved the entry of 31 foreign developed games into the domestic market, including games adapted from popular blockbusters Avatar and The Lord of the Rings. This is the second time this year that imported game licenses have been issued.
The National Press and Publication Administration, which is responsible for issuing imported game licenses, announced a new batch of imported game approval lists on Tuesday, including 21 mobile games, 7 client games, 2 Nintendo Switch games, and 1 mobile/client game.
Tencent and NetEase are the two largest electronic game publishers in China, both of which have at least one game on their list.
Tencent has approved a mobile game adapted from the Japanese best-selling manga series "Naughty King". NetEase has obtained permission to release "The Lord of the Rings: Controversy". This game was launched in overseas markets by NetEase and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in 2021. The data analysis company "Sensor Tower" stated that the current data is unknown, but the game's monthly revenue in January 2022 was $6 million.
On August 23rd, people tried playing games at the Cologne International Game Show held in Cologne, Germany.
Other noteworthy games include Avatar: Back to Pandora, a mobile shooting game adapted from a popular Hollywood sci-fi film directed by director James Cameron, developed by Beijing based Zulong Entertainment.
!["The quantity has exceeded last year's total," China approved 31 imported games](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/a9d72f1fc243f1fdf6e20adc922bc608.jpg)
The Chinese government implements a strict licensing review system for the gaming market. Foreign games must be localized and licensed through Chinese partners in order to legally earn revenue in China.
After 27 imported game licenses were issued in March, the latest batch of licenses has brought the number of imported games approved this year to 58, exceeding the total number approved for the entire year of 2022.
According to reports, in December last year, the State Administration of Press and Publication approved 44 imported games, marking the first time China has issued license plates to foreign games after ending an 18 month approval freeze, marking the latest relaxation of regulation on electronic games that began in mid-2021. In 2020 and 2021, the organization approved 96 and 76 imported games, respectively.
At the same time, after limiting the duration of gaming for minors in China, major Chinese video game companies are investing heavily in globally popular games to help increase user numbers and generate more revenue domestically.
According to a report from the Game Publishing Working Committee under the China Audio Video and Digital Publishing Association, the sales revenue of the Chinese electronic game market in the first half of 2023 decreased by 2.4% year-on-year to RMB 144.3 billion, and there is expected to be a "strong rebound" in the second half of the year.