China softens stance on online gaming

BANGKOK

China’s press and publications authority has approved 105 new online games, saying it fully supports the industry after proposed curbs caused massive losses last week for investors in major games makers.

The National Press and Publication Administration issued a statement on its WeChat social media account yesterday saying the approvals by the Game Working Committee of China Music and Digital Association were “positive signals that support the prosperity and healthy development of the online game industry.”

Tencent's “Counter War: Future” and NetEase’s “Firefly Assault” were among games approved.

Draft guidelines for curbs on online gaming had caused share prices of video game makers like Tencent and Netease to plunge on Dec. 23, causing losses of tens of billions of dollars and dragging Chinese benchmarks lower.

The administration's guidelines said online games would be banned from offering incentives for daily log-ins or purchases.

Other restrictions include limiting how much users can recharge and issuing warnings for “irrational consumption behavior."

The Press and Publication Administration said that in 2023, 1,075 game version numbers had been issued, of which 977 were domestically produced and 98 were imported.

It also cited a “2023 China Game Industry Report” that it said showed sales revenue for the domestic online games market exceeded 300 billion yuan ($42 billion) in 2023, with the number of people playing the games reaching 668 million.

China has taken various measures against the online games sector in recent years.

In 2021, regulators limited the amount of time children could spend on games to just three hours a week, expressing concern about addiction to video gaming. Approvals of new video games were suspended for about eight months but resumed in April 2022 as a broader crackdown on the entire technology industry was eased.