China Starts Approving Video-game Licenses

Chinese video game regulators have granted publishing licenses to dozens of new titles, ending a stagnation in the world's largest mobile game market. The freeze has been in place since July 2021 when Beijing tightened industry rules.

Target stocks include "Bang Bang Rabbit" developed by Baidu Inc. and "Flash Party" developed by XD Inc, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Games from industry leaders Tencent Holdings Ltd, NetEase Inc, and Bilibili Inc. are not on the list.

The rule was an update to the 2019 restrictions, where users were limited to the gameplay of under 18 to 90 minutes on weekdays except the hours from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.

Authorities say the restrictions were intended to tackle the youth video game addiction that they have accused of deteriorating the physical and mental health of the youth and distracting them from school and family commitments. 

Tencent introduced new features in order to prevent minors from getting access to games. These features included facial recognition and other automated systems to boot players off after they reached their allotted time.