People watch e-sports game in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province on May 31, 2022. Photo: VCG

 
The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) on Monday announced the approval of 105 domestically produced online games in December, covering a large number of game makers, showcasing the regulator's strong support for the development of the gaming sector, an industrial association said. 

The announcement, following the approval on Friday of a batch of overseas-made games for import, is a clear indication that the regulator is actively supporting the development of the country's games industry, said a Wechat article authored by the Game Publishing Committee of Chinese Audio-Visual and Digital Publishing Association.

The article noted that the stability for the gaming sector has been shored up, and the gaming market has rebounded significantly.

To date in 2023, the NPPA has approved 977 domestically made games, a year-on-year jump of 108.76 percent, from 468 games in 2022, and 672 games in 2021, public data showed.

Since the beginning of 2023, the rising approval rate of online game products has helped boost the confidence for the gaming enterprises, as more market players are ramping up efforts to explore new opportunities while starting to explore overseas market, read the article. 

In recent years, China's gaming industry has been robust and attained considerable achievements. The actual sales revenue of the country's game sector this year is expected to reach 300 billion yuan ($42.1 billion) milestone for the first time, and the number of users would hit a new high of 668 million, according to a recently released industry report. 

The NPPA on Saturday said in a statement that a set of new draft regulation released on Friday to guide online gaming sector aims to promote the industry's healthy development, after the draft rules caused heated discussion in the country. 

And, a good number of Chinese gaming stocks listed at the domestic A-share market continued to slide during Monday's morning trading session.

Global Times