China has always been somewhat stingy about what gets released and what doesn’t. It doesn’t matter if it’s a kids’ movie or a gory video game, China keeps a strict eye on everything. However, releasing games in China might get a bit easier now. Thanks to the new game license incentive from the Shanghai Municipal Government.
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China Games License For Shanghai
The government wants to support “the production, services and distribution” of digital games in addition to other media, including movies, TV shows, and digital music. This is according to the Shanghai games license in an infographic posted on the Chinese social media platform Weixin.
“In due course, we will launch a policy pilot programme to treat game products developed by foreign-funded game companies in Shanghai as domestic games,” said the article.
Therefore, the possibility of foreign studios having their games considered domestic might drastically alter the scenario. The overall number of approvals can provide a significant new source of income for numerous other businesses.
Of course, if more studios locate offices in China’s largest metropolis, this might also help the Shanghai sector. Ubisoft and 2K are two companies that are already well-positioned to profit from the pilot program because they have studios in Shanghai.
