China finally approves new Tencent video games after 10-month freeze
The world’s largest video game publisher, Tencent, is finally allowed to release new games in its home country after a 10-month government freeze on approvals.
China formed a new regulatory body, the Online Games Ethics Committee, to oversee the approval of new games, and just 352 new games have been approved since the committee started their review process.
The South China Morning Post reports that Chinese regulators hope to return to approving between 2,000 and 3,000 new games annually.
Some of Tencent’s most successful games released worldwide during 2018 still remain barred from release in China.
Regulators have prevented Tencent from monetizing popular games that were already tested in the Chinese market, including “Fortnite: Battle Royale” and “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” both of which have millions of players on a monthly basis.
The freeze on popular new releases has hit Tencent’s bottom line hard too;
the company’s share price dropped nearly 30% during the freeze.
Business Insider