Chinese government agency demands that HTML5 games also be approved

The Chinese government’s State Administration of Press and Publication is set to introduce new rules that will trigger a revamped game approval process later this month. HTML5 games must also be approved.

Research agency Niko Partners has explained the core of the approval process. Game publishers are required to register their games with the Chinese government, which examines, among other things, the content of the games, the quality, monetization and the degree of integrated addiction mechanisms. Only after approval can a game be released on the Chinese market.

One of the innovations is that an Online Game Ethics Committee has been set up. This committee, made up of game experts and academics, will evaluate, under the guidance of a body of the Chinese Communist Party, whether certain games are in line with China’s social values. Furthermore, publishers are encouraged and encouraged to release games that showcase traditional Chinese culture and accurately represent history.

Not only games that have to be downloaded and bought fall under the regime. Mini-games and html5 games, which have become popular in China through WeChat, for example, must also be inspected. That was not the case before. In addition, attention is paid to elements in games that promote addiction, so that more and more publishers will build in anti-addiction systems.

There will also be a limit on the number of games approved each year. Certain types of games are no longer licensed at all from the regulator, including copycat, poker and Mahjong games. According to data from Niko, 8,561 games were approved in 2017, of which 37 percent were poker and Mahjong games. Also games with overly obscene or immoral content will no longer be allowed. Based on this, the research firm thinks that fewer than 5000 new games will be approved this year.

Last year, the approval process was halted when the new regulator was installed. This process was resumed in December, after which more than a thousand games have been approved, according to Niko. New registrations have not been accepted since February, but this will be resumed from April 22, based on the renewed process. It therefore looks at games that have not been viewed since August last year.