The Chinese government is taking steps to control the mobile gaming market by enacting new regulations on mobile developers. The SAPPRFT (The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film & Television) the institution in China responsible for upholding the laws and values of the country’s media now requires that all mobile games be approved by the government before appearing on the iOS and Android app stores. These new regulations went into effect on July 1st.
Not only do these new laws affect future games, but also games that are currently on the app stores. Any existing game on one the these marketplaces must be approved by the government before the beginning of October, or risk being taken down.
The Chinese mobile market is the largest in the world and generated over 7 billion dollars in 2015. Many of the developers in China consist of both big and indie studios. With these regulations now in place, developers will now have to spend more time and money to abide by the strict rules set by the Chinese government in order to have their games published on the app store.
The approval process can take up to 3 months, a timeframe that could put smaller companies at risk of going out of business.
These new regulations could drastically change the environment of the mobile market in China. For those interested in more, noted video game industry analyst ZHugeEX took a detailed look at the worldwide mobile market and how the changes in China could affect games around the world.