China, the world’s largest video gaming market, has finally relaxed its grip on the local gaming industry – as the National Press and Public Administration issued fresh licenses to several games in the country.

These would benefit all the industry participants – including companies and players who’re frozen by strict rules from the government. Experts predict that over 800 new licenses will be dispatched this year, marking it as the best period.

Chinese Video Gaming Market

With over 664 million active players, China is definitely a market for video gaming companies to focus on. And just when everyone is falling over, the Chinese government has come up with a bunch of stringent rules to safeguard children online and online addiction.

These, alongside the sluggish demand and COVID-19 lockdowns, had led to declining in demand for video games in the past couple of years, eventually wiping out market shares of some of the big companies – like Tencent and NetEase – while 200 other game studios have closed entirely!

Well, rejuvenating the industry, the Chinese National Press and Public Administration (NPPA) has just announced 88 fresh licenses to several games and studios for this year. This spurred interest among the studios and players once again, who are regrouping for good times ahead.

Some of those licenses include – one for Tencent to launch Undawn, developed by LightSpeed studio and Alchemy Stars, and one for NetEase to launch a shooting game called Badlanders – which was already released globally but was waiting for approval in China.

Also, the Genshin Impact makers miHoYo studio is too hot a license for launching Honkai Series called Honkai: Star Rail – a much-anticipated game this year. Others include Hong Kong-based XD Inc, Shenzhen-based Perfect World, and Shanghai-based 37Games got their respective licenses for launching new games this year.

Experts suggest that the Chinese government may approve anywhere between 800 to 900 new video game licenses this year – which is more than the approvals made in the last couple of years.

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