A full list of vowel and unspoken requirements for games published in China has been released
The website of the State Administration of China for Press and Publications (SAPP) has requirements for games that need a license to be released in China. The requirements apply to both local and foreign titles.
The full list of recommendations was provided by the Pillar Legal law firm on its website. Moreover, she supplemented the list of legally approved rules with unspoken ones, which SAPP representatives told about at meetings with various gaming companies. The fact of the meetings is confirmed by the news agencies of the People’s Republic of China.
In drafting the new rules, SAPP relied on the requirements of the previous Chinese regulator. Many have been tightened up. Some of them are App2Top.ru published earlier.
Official requirements for the game
- SAPP will limit the number of permissions granted to prevent “low-quality and unoriginal” games from entering the market.
- The decision on the game will be made within 80 working days from the date of receipt of the application.
- Now even mini-games for WeChat, TikTok, etc., not to mention HTML5 projects, should receive a license.
- The game will not be allowed to be published if its name matches the name of another title.
- The game should not have pornographic and vulgar elements, bloody and violent scenes.
What should the publisher provide
- A list of all the hired specialists responsible for the publication process (including junior and middle-level professionals); necessarily with the signatures of the censor responsible for the game and the head of the publisher.
- A complete overview of the game, including information about content, characters (game and NPC), storylines, stores, settings and other features. In addition, the publisher must show the process of creating a review (with the start and end dates of this process), all the problems of the game discovered during the review, and measures to correct them (with screenshots).
- More than 10 color screenshots of the game with explanations. One of them should display the start menu of the game along with the name.
- Three discs with all the documentation for the game.
- Demo video (at least 10 minutes long). It should contain: the name of the game, its launch interface, a screen with a warning about possible harm to health, basic combat mechanics (the entire process of combat lasting more than 2 minutes), the process of buying in-game items, key plot points, all characters and all location maps. Plus a push notification about the fatigue of the playing user and the associated process of underestimating the experience points earned, in-game currency, etc.
- A demo video is not required to apply for the publication of a mini-game.
- If the game is foreign: information about the date and region of the first commercial launch, a list of available regions, the game’s earnings, the number of its users and reviews for it outside of China.
Unspoken requirements for the game
- The names of prequels and sequels of games should reflect the name of the original game (series). The name of the online game, if it is a spin-off, must also contain the original. Plus, it should not contain Arabic numerals (2, 3, 4, etc.).
- Games on political topics, games about life in a harem, poker and board games, dress up games are unacceptable. Plots based on various superstitions, as well as “marriage scenes” in games for children are unacceptable.
- There should be no blood in the game, even repainted in a different color, and the bodies of the killed characters should immediately disappear.
- Loot boxes are allowed. But the game should have an explanation of how many boxes with virtual loot you need to open to get a valuable item. In the future, SAPP can set daily limits on the number of loot boxes purchased — no more than 50 boxes in total. The daily limit must be clearly displayed in the game, and the chances of losing valuable items should increase with each opened loot box.
- The publisher must inform the date of the expected commercial launch. If the game is not launched within the specified time, the publisher will have to explain this to SAPP. Otherwise, the organization will prohibit the issuance of new licenses to him.
- If SAPP rejects the game three times, it will no longer be accepted for consideration. In Guangdong Province, the rule may be tightened altogether: the same application will be considered no more than twice.
Apparently, SAPP has finally assumed the role of the main regulator of the Chinese gaming industry. The Online Gaming Ethics Committee will also participate in the issuance process. Previously, the affairs of the gaming market were handled by the State Administration of the Press, Publications, Radio, Film and Television of China, as well as the local Ministry of Culture. According to Pillar Legal, both agencies may be suspended from the licensing process.
It’s hard to say how many games are waiting for approval right now. In February, it was assumed that there would be at least 5 thousand such games. The approval process was re-launched on December 29 after a nine-month downtime. A total of 999 Chinese games and 52 foreign ones have been approved since the end of the year to the present.
Also on the topic:
