Apple Inc. will remove thousands of video game apps from its platform in China due to pressure from the Chinese government.
Apple Inc. warned Chinese mobile App developers this month that another batch of paid gaming apps could be removed from its app store, according to a memo viewed by The Wall Street Journal. Earlier this year, the company had already taken thousands of apps offline.
In 2016, the Chinese government began requiring video games to be licensed before they could be released, but developers were able to bypass that requirement in the Apple App Store. Apple has not explained why the loophole exists or why the company began closing it this year. Foreign software developers have lamented the change, saying it’s hard to get their games approved in China. Data from the Chinese government show that only 97 foreign games have been approved this year.
Rich Bishop of consulting firm ChinaInApp told the Wall Street Journal, “As far as we can tell, only a small percentage of those games will be licensed.”
The app store cleanup comes as China has stepped up its efforts to regulate the Internet with tighter content controls and censorship, including a request to remove more than 100 apps from China’s Apple Store. China’s State Internet Information Office called the apps illegal, but did not elaborate on why.
Apple had 272,000 games in its Chinese app store last year, according to Sensor Tower, which tracks the global app business. 2020 saw Apple remove at least 94,000 apps, far more than the 25,000 game apps it removed last year.
Revenue growth for games in Apple’s China store also appears to have slowed, although the segment has picked up pace globally. sensor Tower estimates that game revenue in China grew 14 percent this year through November to $13 billion. This compares to 21 percent year-over-year growth in China in 2019 and 26 percent year-over-year growth globally this year.
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