Just after China lifted a 9 month gaming license ban, they have cracked down on services that allow gamers in the country to play foreign games banned in China on foreign platforms.
These apps were also used by gamers to boost their internet speeds to allow for better online gaming experiences, especially when playing on foreign servers. While this is not technically disallowed, internet speeds make this an impossibility for most.
This has continued to dwindle the number of games that Chinese players can access, which was already extremely limited. Censorship regarding the content of games has long been limited and includes items such as Mahjong and blood, of any color.
The move to gain increased control over the gaming sphere should not come as a surprise. The 9 month ban on licensing seems to have been a strongarm technique by the CPP to get compliance from game developers. Studios made changes to be more in line with the government’s push for more market regulation.
With this most recently move it simply increases the audience capture to push the CCP’s agenda even harder. This is something we will likely continue to see in the future.