Video Game News: China ends nine-month freeze on new game releases

Good news for gamers in the world's largest video game market - the Chinese government has allowed new games to be released to stores. This is the first time in nine months that new games have been approved by China's State Administration of Press and Publication. Of the over 5,000 titles waiting to get into the hands of eager Chinese gamers, only 80 have been approved by the administration.

Even that comparatively minuscule amount is a relief for publishers who sell in the region. China generates over $30 billion for the gaming industry every year, an amount any publisher would love to get a portion of. Companies that publish primarily in the country, such as Chinese tech giant Tencent, have seen shares of their stock drop by as much as 30% simply due to the fact that their titles have been held back and, therefore, can't generate any revenue. With today's announcement, Tencent's stock price has risen as high as 4.6%

The Chinese government saw a reshuffling in organization back in March, and no games could be approved - and therefore sold - until departmental roles were settled. The aforementioned Administration of Press and Publication was put under the control of China's propaganda department, which sounds about right.

The government division examines every game submitted for content deemed inappropriate by the state. Elements considered verboten include pornography, gambling, and excessive violence.

For their part, SAPP has asked Chinese gamers to be patient as a backlog of games that size takes a long time to censor. The deputy head of SAPP, Feng Shixin, assured consumers in China that "the first batch of games have been reviewed," and that they "will hurry up to issue licenses."

Out of the 80 games released, 67 of them were mobile games, with only one console title and the rest for PC. There's been no indication as to when the next batch of games will be released.

(h/t to MCV UK and The Economist)