Black Myth Success Fuels China’s Push for More Game Approvals

China continues to maintain a steady pace of video game approvals in 2024, with the latest batch of licenses granted in September including 109 titles.

According to the South China Morning Post, the most notable title from the list is “Shou,” meaning “hunting,” a mysterious title from Tencent. Other significant approvals include:

• “Over Field“: A role-playing game from NetEase
• “Jianxiaqingyuan Ling“: A title from Seasun Games, a subsidiary of Chinese software developer Kingsoft
• “Maoxianzouelong“: A mobile game from Guangzhou-based 37Games

The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), China’s regulatory body overseeing the gaming industry, has been approving an average of 107 video games per month this year. This comes after a challenging period for the industry, which was impacted by strict regulatory measures introduced in 2021. The Chinese government appears to be focused on reviving the sector, which is crucial to its digital economy and cultural export strategy.

The ongoing buzz around Black Myth: Wukong, inspired by the classic 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, has boosted China’s reputation in the gaming world. The game has sold over 20 million copies across PC and PlayStation 5 platforms and $1 billion in gross revenue on Steam alone, shattering multiple records. This is seen as a major step forward in the country’s push to expand its cultural exports.

Last month they approved the record 117 games, making September’s tally slightly lower but still significant for the industry. August also saw a 21% increase in video game revenue in China, as per the Gaming Publishing Committee of the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association. The strong market performance could encourage the Chinese government to continue supporting the gaming industry by issuing more game licenses.

So far in 2024, the NPPA has approved 959 domestic video games, putting the country on track to surpass last year’s total of 977. This marks a strong recovery from 2022 when only 468 titles were approved, following a significant pause in game licensing that lasted eight months.