This article only represents the author's own views.
The waiting game goes on for China’s anxious gaming industry. China’s regulator, the National Press and Publication Administration, on Monday published its latest list of approvals for domestically developed online games, with 86 titles getting the nod this time. Tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. (0700.HK) made the list, with its “Ace Force 2” becoming the company’s fourth title approved this year.
But making it onto the list isn’t always easy in a country where every online game must get regulatory approval. In the past two years, Beijing has rolled out a slew of policies to curb excessive gaming, and has also suspended approvals of new titles for months at a time. As China’s largest gaming company, Tencent has become a target for those critical of the gaming pastime, criticized by official media at one point for serving up “spiritual opium.” The company’s stock has fallen sharply since then, from a record high of HK$775.50 to a low point of HK$180.50 at the end of last year, losing three-quarters of its value.