Chinese gaming companies believe that the government is on the verge of ending its 9-month halt of new title approvals, the Financial Times reports, which has setback growth in the world’s largest gaming market.
The freeze of approvals came in March when a reshuffle of government departments rolled China’s media watchdog in with the Communist party propaganda office. Officials have voiced concerns towards gaming addiction among young Chinese, as well as the negative influence of violent or lewd content.
Company execs have said that although the resumptions should restart in the new year, regulators will have to work through a backlog of over 5,000 titles that have sought approval since March. Bosses are also concerned that the new approval process will carry much more stringent conditions.
Shares in China’s leading games company Tencent jumped 4.5% on the news. Tencent has seen its market cap shrink by more than $19 billion since approvals began to stall.
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