For two weeks now, a hard lockdown has been going on in Shanghai, associated with a new outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic. In conditions of complete isolation, gaming companies support their employees by delivering products to them for free.

Chinese gaming companies risk facing even tougher regulation from the authorities. This time, politicians have proposed a number of additional measures, including bringing parents to justice and a complete ban on games for minors.The issue of regulation of the gaming industry was raised during the recent sessions of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the People’s Political Consultative Council of China (CPPCC).

The other day, a scandal broke out in China after the death of a Bilibili employee. He died, presumably as a result of overtime work during the weekend. Despite the fact that the company itself denies the existence of overwork, this incident once again forced us to talk about the problems of Chinese labor legislation.According to TechNode with reference to an internal Bilibili letter, the 25-year-old employee died last Friday.

The Chinese authorities may be planning to take up the regulation of esports. The other day, People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, proposed putting an end to the “chaos” in this segment of the gaming industry and starting to closely monitor the organizers of the competitions.

Roblox had high hopes for the Chinese version of its app. However, recently it became known about its removal from local stores. At the same time, such a decision is unlikely to be connected with the current “freeze” on the issuance of gaming licenses. The company itself only notes that it is currently working on a new version of its platform for China.The Chinese version of Roblox called LuoBuLesi disappeared from mobile stores on December…

In China, 武侠乂 (The Swordsmen X) is being prepared for release — a mobile battle royale in a historical setting and with an emphasis on hand-to-hand fighting. As noted by the local press, the game has a chance to become a hit in China. At the moment, 2 million users have already pre-registered in it.

Tencent will once again be able to update a number of its applications in China. The company managed to reach an agreement with the authorities three weeks after the ban was issued. However, it is unclear whether the restriction on the release of new mobile products will remain valid.The decision was made by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the South China Morning Post reports.

In recent months, China has sharply tightened measures to regulate the gaming industry. According to the local publisher CMGE, soon the control over the industry will be as strict as over films and TV series. The list of banned topics will become even longer, and the latest measures taken by the government are just the beginning.Sword and Fairy 7

The industrial giant Tencent is facing problems at home. For an indefinite period, he was banned from publishing new applications in China and updating old ones. The reason for this was “violation of the interests and rights of users.”

For the first time in 20 years, Niko Partners analysts have revised the forecast for the Chinese gaming market downwards. According to the updated data, by the end of 2021, the turnover of the console, mobile and PC segments in China will amount to $46.98 billion – $540 million less than originally expected.

In the near future, the Chinese regulator will again issue licenses to online games. He hasn’t done it in four months. Against the background of such news, the shares of local giants Tencent and NetEase increased in price.

Since the end of July, no new online game can be approved for release in China. This is the longest “freeze” since 2018 — then the issuance of licenses was stopped for nine months. The current situation has already forced some developers to buy licenses on the black market.

The Chinese giant ByteDance will not appear on the stock exchange until at least the end of 2022. According to the SCMP portal, TikTok‘s parent company has decided to wait until the new rules for regulating cyberspace are approved in China. Against the background of rumors, the largest shareholders of ByteDance began to get rid of their shares.

Tencent continues to invest in Western developers. Recently, the Chinese giant acquired 21.97% of the shares of the Polish studio Bloober Team, becoming its largest shareholder. The transaction amount was 77.6 million Polish zloty ($19.5 million).The Medium

During August and September, not a single video game was able to get permission to release in China. This may be due to updated (and stricter) licensing rules. Now titles should contain the “right set of values” and take care of the history and culture of China.

What happens in game marketing in the Western market is generally known. The situation with the promotion of games in China is much less covered. This is what we talked about with Maxim Laba, the regional director of the Nativex agency, which specializes in UA in its native China.

Analyst Daniel Ahmad told how the recent actions of the Chinese authorities may affect the local gaming industry. Due to the increased control over the industry, it will be much more difficult for developers to circumvent the current restrictions. And the state intends to close the last loopholes for them.Honor of Kings

Beijing has announced that it is going to monitor the activity of minors on social networks and streaming platforms.

The expansion into the Chinese market is announced by the mobile publisher with Russian roots Azur Games. The company got the opportunity to publish hyper-casual Android games with advertising monetization in China.