China has signaled that it will begin to actively enforce its ban on the live streaming of unauthorized games. Every The country’s National Radio and Television Administration on Friday, all internet platforms are “strictly prohibited” from streaming titles that have not been approved by the government.
According to video game industry analyst China always requires games to be officially licensed before they can or streamed domestically, but rarely enforced the latter’s ban. That behavior allows games like , a title that is not officially approved for sale in China, aims to find a significant audience on platforms like Huya. Ahmad noted that FromSoftware’s latest release amassed around 17 million cumulative average daily viewers in its first week of release.
“What does this mean in practice unless your game is approved by [National Radio and Television Administration]It will be difficult to gain visibility through live streaming, short videos, ads or other platforms [and] channels, ”Ahmad .
China has become increasingly tough on video games in recent years. Last summer, the country began enforcing a weekly limit on the amount of time kids can play video games online. At the time of the ban, a state-owned newspaper described the medium as a “spiritual opium”. The National Radio and Television Administration uses similar rhetoric, arguing that issues like teen addiction call for urgent action on live video game streaming. death.
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