China's gaming regulator on Monday granted publishing licences to 136 online games, including titles belonging to developers such as G-bits Network Technology and iDreamSky.
Titles belonging to tech companies Tencent and NetEase were not on the approved list published by the National Press and Public Administration (NPPA), reported Reuters.
The NPPA switched to publishing a monthly list of approved titles starting in 2018. The move was prompted by a wave of parental concerns about children's gambling addiction, often amplified by the state-owned media and China’s legislators.
China's strict new game licensing system stemmed from a re-evaluation by authorities about the extent to which modern video games can influence a person’s mindset and views. All online video games that reach Chinese players must be screened and censored by the state in the same way that books, movies, and television programmes are. China's censors are particularly vigilant about foreign games, censoring and localizing them.
Pressure on the industry intensified last year after President Xi Jinping said gaming addiction among the country's youth had become a social problem, and state media dubbed games "spiritual opium”.
Video game developers are forced to use a variety of technologies, from facial recognition to artificial intelligence to special verification systems, to make sure that players are not aged under 18.
