Exclusive | China’s gaming boom hit by freeze in licensing as propaganda body takes charge
Halt in new licences since March predicted to continue by government source, who confirms Central Propaganda Department will oversee gaming regulation
The Chinese government is giving the Communist Party propaganda department the power to license online games as it seeks greater control of the country’s gaming market – but the revamp is resulting in huge losses for its game developers.
Approvals of licences for new games have been suspended since the end of March, and a government source has told the South China Morning Post it may take a further four to six months to finalise the new licensing system.
China’s online game market, the world’s largest, has experienced dramatic growth in recent years, but the government is showing increasing concern about what it sees as the genre’s negative aspects, including violent content and its effect on the eyesight of the country’s teenagers.
It is expected that Beijing will tighten controls over which games Chinese consumers can play, and how they can play. It is yet to be decided whether this will involve quota systems or entrance barriers for games.
The centralising of game approval at a single bureau is confirmed for the first time in a document published last week on the website of China’s education ministry, which outlines how China plans to address myopia – nearsightedness – among children.