Tencent fails to win game approval as China concerns persist

Tiongkok approved its third batch of new video games this year, but Tencent Holdings Ltd again failed to make the listing, which traders view to gauge Beijing’s intentions for the world’s largest mobile entertainment arena.

There have been no Tencent online games among the 67 titles approved by the Nationwide Press and Publication Administration in the number of licenses granted immediately. The WeChat owner had missed out on two previous rounds that will started April, whenever regulators resumed posting regular lists of approved titles following a months-long suspension. Titles by smaller competitor NetEase Inc had been also absent.

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Tencent-backed mobile gaming developer iDreamsky’s Endless Return was among the titles that won authorization. Other titles integrated ByteDance Ltd’s role-playing mobile game Crystal Associated with Atlan and Bilibili Inc’s Farrenheit. I. S. To.: Forged In Darkness Torch for PC and consoles.

“We believe the two consecutive months of home loan approvals should allay marketplace concerns about sector trends, ” had written Jefferies analyst Thomas Chong in a notice to investors. Quality content will be a “crucial factor for new online games to be released within the future”.

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Although absent from the checklist, Tencent and NetEase will benefit from the resumption of gaming home loan approvals. Game broadcasting platforms Huya Inc plus Douyu International Holdings and short-form video platform Kuaishou Technology will also be helped by more content-driven traffic, he wrote.

Beijing’s tech attack – which ensnared sectors from ecommerce to fintech and also online education over a tumultuous year – spread to gaming within August, when government bodies introduced stringent procedures such as capping “me time” for minors and imposed other requirements aimed at curbing dependancy. The media watchdog has since already been reviewing new titles to determine whether they meet up with stricter criteria upon content and kid protection, slowing rollouts, Bloomberg News provides reported.

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Concerns persist about the long-term viability of holding shares in Chinese Internet and gaming firms, carrying out a year of unprecedented scrutiny from Beijing. Investors have been watching regulators’ moves to determine when to re-enter the market. – Bloomberg