On Tuesday, December 24, the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) of China issued the last batch of game publication licenses for the year in the country. As a result, the total number of games approved by the regulator for 2024 amounted to 1,416.
Among these games, 1,306 are projects developed by teams from China. Another 110 games were created by foreign studios.
As noted by the South China Morning Post, the last time the NPPA issued more licenses was five years ago. In 2019, the regulator allowed the release of 1,570 games in China.
For comparison, here's how many games were approved for release in China in previous years:
▫️2023 — 977 Chinese games and 98 foreign games;
▫️2022 — 468 Chinese games and 44 foreign games;
▫️2021 — 679 Chinese games and 76 foreign games;
▫️2020 — 1,314 Chinese games and 97 foreign games;
▫️2019 — 1,385 Chinese games and 185 foreign games;
▫️2018 — 2,040 Chinese games and 55 foreign games.
Recall, in July 2021, China paused issuing licenses for games. The pause was lifted for Chinese projects in April 2022, whereas for games from foreign developers, it lasted eight months longer—until December 2022. This explains the drop in the number of approved games in 2021-2022. In 2023, the situation began returning to normal.
Among the games that received a license in December 2024 are Ananta by NetEase, Monster Hunter Outlanders by Capcom, Passpartout 2 by Flamebait Games, Asphalt 8: Airborne by Gameloft, and Eternal Return by Nimble Neuron. There were 135 games in total—a number surpassed only in February, when 142 titles were approved for release.