Game imports are approved every two months in China

China’s National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) approved 15 imported games on August 2, 2024, granting them the coveted ISBN for domestic publications. This brings the number of imported game approvals in 2024 YTD to 76, meaning it will surpass the 76 approved titles in 2021, has already surpassed the 44 approved titles in 2022, and is also on track to surpass the 98 approved titles in in 2023. “Imported games” refers to titles developed or owned by entities based outside China. All video games require a license (ISBN) from NPPA before they can be officially operated in the country, although we note that loopholes often allow Chinese gamers to access unapproved games. We explain this in depth in our China Games Regulation Report.

Here are some highlights from the August 2 wave:

• A Rainbow Six the game has been approved for mobile and PC. The Rainbow Six franchise has a unique history in China Siege of the Rainbow Six was never officially approved and was even banned from being broadcast on game live streaming platforms. IP approval in China, which we believe is for 2025 Rainbow Six Mobile the game and will be operated by Tencent, is a positive development for Ubisoft in China.
• NetEase has acquired licenses for two games based on the Marvel IP, incl Marvel Snap (Second Dinner) and Marvel Rivals (developed by myself). NetEase and Marvel announced a partnership in 2019 to develop games and other entertainment content based on Marvel IP. Snap has been released overseas and received positive reception Rival currently undergoing testing.
• Nintendo has also received a license for Mario Golf: Super Rush And Paper Mario: The Origami Kingwhich will be distributed by Tencent for the Chinese version of Nintendo Switch. Tencent and Nintendo officially launched the Nintendo Switch in China in December 2019. According to our China Gamer Behavior & Market Insights 2024 report, the Nintendo Switch is the best-selling current-generation console in China.
• Two prominent Japanese IPs also received licenses, Final Fantasy And Dynasty Warriors. A mobile game based on Final Fantasy XIV is being developed by Tencent and Square Enix and has been approved. A mobile game based on Dynasty Warriors 8 developed by Century Network, TCI Play and Koei Tecmo are also approved.

Here are some other key takeaways from this year’s game import approvals:

• There are 4 game import approval batches this year: February, April, June and August. Based on a trend of one batch every two months, we estimate there will be more than 30 games approved by the end of this year, bringing the total to more than 100 and surpassing the total of game import approvals in 2023 (98).
• Mobile, as the largest platform in China, accounts for the highest number of game import approvals issued in 2024, namely 49. Cross-platform games are in second place with 11 approvals, while PC and consoles lag behind with 9 and 7 approvals respectively.
  Obtaining a license in China can be very profitable. Various titles over the past year have found success in China after receiving licenses. Value (Riot Games) recently surpassed 1 million peak concurrent users and has become the top PC esports game in the country. Dungeons & Fighters: Origins (Nexon), which was only released in May this year, has already surpassed $1 billion in player spending.

Niko Partners offers a number of reports and services to keep you abreast of China’s video game market:

NikoIQ: Stay up to date with gaming deals, top internet cafe games, esports tournaments and all the latest news and analysis on the Chinese gaming market.

China Games & Streaming Tracker: Track games, streamers, fans, tips and more across China’s leading gaming live streaming platforms.

Gamer Behavior Reports & China Market Insights: Get access to our three-part report series covering our market model and five-year forecast, gamer survey insights, and market analysis.