China gaming: Beijing approves Dungeon & Fighter Mobile among imported titles, giving Tencent a boost
- The agency in charge of licensing video games in China approved 32 imported games on Thursday, including titles run by Tencent, NetEase and ByteDance
- China’s video game sales increased 14 per cent in 2023 to US$42.7 billion, marking the highest annual total since the data became available in 2003
In a surprise move, China’s gaming regulator approved a new batch of foreign video games on Friday, including hit title Dungeon & Fighter (DnF) Mobile to be operated in China by Tencent Holdings, as Beijing seeks to reassure the stock market after scrapping a controversial gaming regulation.
The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), the agency in charge of licensing video games in China, published a list of 32 newly approved imported games on Thursday, including titles run by major technology firms Tencent, NetEase and ByteDance.
Tencent’s stock price in Hong Kong gained 2.9 per cent on Friday.
Tencent, the Chinese partner of DnF Mobile developer Nexon, a Japanese-Korean game studio, first planned to launch the title in China in 2020, but was thwarted by Beijing’s tightened controls over game licensing and content at the time.
NPPA’s approvals were a “positive surprise”, as DnF Mobile from Tencent is “highly anticipated by the market”, Jefferies analysts wrote in a research note on Friday.
Two video games for the Nintendo Switch, Kirby Star Allies and Taiko no Tatsujin, also published by Tencent in China, were among the other titles in the newly approved batch.
