China approves 88 game licences ahead of ChinaJoy expo as Beijing seeks to revive video gaming indus

China has issued a batch of video game licences ahead of the country’s largest gaming event this year, in another positive sign for an industry mauled by a lengthy regulatory crackdown and which was once described by state media as churning out “spiritual opium”.

The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), the agency responsible for licensing video games in China, published a list of 88 approved game titles developed by domestic companies on Wednesday.

While none of the approved titles come from the country’s three top gaming companies – Tencent Holdings, NetEase and miHoYo – the latest approvals signal that Beijing is now focused on supporting the industry, especially smaller studios which are also struggling with economic headwinds.

Some of the notable titles approved include Sword of Convallaria by Shanghai-based XD, World of Sword: Origin by Guangdong-based Seasun, the gaming subsidiary of Chinese software developer Kingsoft Corp, as well as Delta Action by Shenzhen-based iDreamSky. All of these companies are regarded as second-tier game developers in the country.

The number of licence approvals is in line with previous months this year, as Beijing continues to ease its year-long crackdown on the world’s largest video gaming industry, which involved a lengthy freeze on new licences. In the year to date, the NPPA has approved over 600 domestic games, higher than the 466 domestic approvals for all of 2022.

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The country will kick off its biggest gaming expo, ChinaJoy, in Shanghai this week, an in-person event after last year’s online-only edition due to China’s strict zero-Covid rules.

ChinaJoy is also known as the China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference and is hosted by China’s Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association under the guidance of the NPPA and Shanghai’s local government. It will last for five days starting on Thursday, pulling in hundreds of the country’s gaming companies as well as a number of foreign giants, including Microsoft and Sony.

Meanwhile, the domestic video games market is still recovering from the lengthy crackdown and tough economic conditions. Industry revenue fell 2.16 per cent year on year to 22.5 billion yuan (US$3.15 billion) in April, according to data from gaming intelligence firm CNG, narrowing the 10.33 per cent drop seen throughout 2022.

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