China’s regulator granted publishing licenses to 60 online games on Tuesday, in the biggest mass approval of titles for computers and smartphones since July 2021 in the country’s $49 billion market for online entertainment, reports the South China Morning Post.
The approvals were the second batch of licenses handed out since the 45 titles given the green light in April, in a sign that regulators are returning to a normal of approving new games on a regular basis.
Games developed by Tencent Holdings and NetEase were excluded from the latest approvals, continuing the 11-month drought for two of the worldwide industry’s biggest publishers. Tencent’s shares have slumped 34% since last July in Hong Kong while NetEase fell 7.5% in the same period.