Tencent, Netease Still Missing From Latest List of Approved Games in China
Once again, Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Netease Inc. were left out when Chinese regulators green-lit the latest batch of online games.
Neither company appeared on a list of 93 domestic games approved for licenses in January and were also absent from 164 cleared in December, ending a nine-month freeze, according to notices posted by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.
Tencent’s pipeline has been on ice since March, when regulators halted the release of new titles in the world’s largest gaming market. That crippled the gaming giant’s ability to make money from its biggest hits-- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite. The company shed more than $200 billion in market value at one point in 2018, leading losses in Chinese gaming shares. On Tuesday, Tencent’s stock slid as much as 2.4 percent.
China is home to the world’s largest video game market, where 620 million players spent $37.9 billion last year mostly on mobile and PC games, showed data from gaming market researcher Newzoo.