- China approved 115 new video games in January 2024.
- Last year’s doubling of game licenses to 1,076 follows an 8-month freeze in 2021 that battered gaming stocks.
- The thaw aligns with China boosting exports and consumption to spur economic growth.
China greenlit 115 new video game titles in January 2024, the largest single-month batch of approvals in over 18 months. The new licenses follow a recent trend of thawing regulations for the gaming industry after years of crackdowns.
Reversing the gaming regulation trend
Last year, China approved 1,076 game titles, doubling the 512 approved in 2022. This came on the heels of an 8-month licensing freeze in 2021 that battered gaming stocks.
Regulators also recently walked back a proposed plan to restrict play time and spending that caused shares of gaming giants Tencent and NetEase to sink.
Signs of a broader economic thaw
January’s slate includes a Tencent mobile game co-designed with the National Basketball Association, representing growing collaborations between Chinese tech firms and American brands. The flurry of new licenses aligns with China’s recent reversal of zero-COVID policies and measures to boost economic growth.
After tighter clamps on the technology, education, and other sectors since 2021 dampened investor sentiment, Beijing has embarked on efforts to jumpstart exports, consumption, and market confidence in 2024.
The record pace of game approvals indicates regulators may continue thawing oversight to prop up the world’s largest gaming market. But unpredictability still lingers as policies rapidly shift along with China’s economic winds.
