China gaming ban: no new licenses in May points to ‘new normal’ in regulatory hostility

Silence has followed the agency’s approval for 45 new video game titles on April 11, leaving the industry in the dark. China has the world’s biggest mobile-gaming market with an estimated US$49bil revenue, one investor estimates. — SCMP

China’s video game regulator has refrained from issuing any new licenses in May after it ended an eight-month freeze in April, signalling Beijing’s regulatory hostility will persist for now, industry insiders say.

The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), the agency in charge of licensing video games in China, approved a list of 45 new titles from game developers on April 11, raising hopes that the regulator would return to the old routine of approving dozens of titles on a monthly basis.