Beijing and Shanghai want to be global gaming capitals, but content controls are a problem

Beijing hosted the League of Legends World Championship in 2017 and Shanghai had The International 2019, but analysts worry tightening controls will dampen industry creativity

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More than 40,000 fans showed up at the National Stadium in Beijing for the League of Legends World Championship in 2017, where a dragon was added onto the set using augmented reality. (Picture: Riot Games)

Published: 10:31pm, 20 Dec 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

When you think about global hubs for gaming, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Seoul are likely the first places that come to mind. But China is hoping to broaden that list.

The Beijing government recently revealed a plan to be the “International Capital of Online Games” by 2025. Within a similar time period, Shanghai hopes to become the “International Capital of Esports,” the city’s government announced in 2017. Many other local governments have also said they’re building “esports towns” and “gaming cities,” offering aggressive growth targets.

If you’re familiar with China’s gaming market, you’re no doubt thinking of the most obvious reason to be skeptical of China’s gaming aspirations: Control.

China is notorious for its content restrictions, which have grown tighter in recent years. And China’s history with gaming doesn’t inspire confidence. The country banned gaming consoles for 15 years and video games were once labelled “digital heroin.”

Why the impact of China’s 15-year console ban still lingers today

“The policies today revolve around maintaining control,” said Jintiao Zheng, co-founder of media outlet Gamer Boom. “We have been trying to expand our industry overseas for a year now, but we have barely seen any competitive titles. If policies are still control-oriented, it makes it even harder to have quality titles.”

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