China’s video game regulator hasn’t approved any new games since July

China has declared war on video games, and after the limitations of hours of play for minors, we now know that the local newspaper South China Morning Post has revealed that the National Press and Publications Administration (NPPA) has not issued any new licenses to a game developer since July 2021. As a result, several local companies have been forced out of business, while some of the larger are looking to relocate their operations abroad.

The real motives behind this move are unknown.

“The National Press and Publications Administration, which is in charge of licensing video games in China, has not released a list of new titles approved since the end of July. This marks the country’s longest suspension of new game licenses since a hiatus of nine months in 2018 that followed a regulatory reshuffle.

As a result, thousands of small studios and video game-related companies – including those dedicated to merchandising, advertising and publishing – have been shut down in recent months.

About 14,000 of these companies have been decommissioned since July, according to a report published by the state-run Securities Daily on Friday, citing data from business record-keeping company Tianyancha. This figure represents a considerable acceleration compared to the 18,000 gaming companies that closed throughout 2020.

Larger companies such as ByteDance, which owns TikTok, online search giant Baidu and Tanwan Games, cut their losses by laying off hundreds of employees related to the video game segment.

via: Engadget