In China, the issuance of licenses for the sale of games has resumed. Yesterday, the government approved a list of 45 games approved for release. As a result, the shares of gaming companies began to grow.
The moratorium lasted eight months. It was adopted as part of the state’s fight against gambling addiction.
The defrosting had a positive effect on the shares of companies. For example, Tencent shares rose by 5%, and NetEase capitalization – by 6%, Bloomberg reports. Bilibili Inc showed the best results – 15%.
At the same time, the government did not include titles from Tencent and NetEase in the list of approved games. Analysts predict that in the future both companies will still receive approval for their products. A similar situation has already occurred after the 2018 moratorium.
In general, the lifting of the ban is a favorable moment for the gaming industry.
An analyst at Niko Partners, Daniel Ahmad, noted in his note: “More than 5,000 gaming companies have joined the fight against gambling addiction. Many of them have changed their content in accordance with the requirements. Investigations were carried out against the rest and fines were imposed.”
According to Ahmad, this influenced the resumption of the issuance of licenses.
Some are wary of defrosting. According to senior analyst of Omedia, Chenyu Cui, the lifting of the moratorium should not be considered an unambiguous decision. Further actions of the government are still unknown. It’s also unclear when to expect the next lists of approved games.