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China doles out 87 new video game licences in February, with Tencent and NetEase among the recipients

  • Tencent, the world’s largest video games publisher by revenue, got the green light for ‘Wang Zhe Wan Xiang Qi’
  • NetEase, China’s second-largest gaming company, won approval for a new PC game related to its hit mobile title Fantasy Westward Journey

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China approved another batch of video games in February. Photo: AFP
Ann Caoin Shanghai

China approved 87 new video game licences in February, in a further sign that regulatory pressure is easing in the world’s largest video games market.

The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), the agency that oversees online games in China, published its latest list of approvals on Friday, with titles from Tencent Holdings and NetEase – the country’s two biggest video games companies – among the beneficiaries.

Tencent, the world’s largest video games publisher by revenue, got the green light for Wang Zhe Wan Xiang Qi, a strategy game based on its flagship mobile title Honour of Kings.

The mobile game was first revealed by Tencent in November 2022, along with two other mobile games adapted from the hit multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game.

Honour of Kings, released in 2015, was ranked as the most lucrative mobile game in 2022 after racking up US$2.2 billion in sales, according to data from Appmagic.

NetEase, China’s second-largest gaming company, won approval for a new PC game related to its hit mobile title Fantasy Westward Journey, which was ranked ninth by global revenue in 2022, according to Appmagic. NetEase has yet to disclose any information about the game.

Although the number of new licences given to the two top game publishers fell from January, when Tencent and NetEase received four licences in total, the latest award is nevertheless a signal that the regulator has adopted a more positive stance in recent months.

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