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Editorial | US$80b market rout on games rules shows there is much to lose

  • Calm may have been restored for now, but mainland China regulators will now only be too aware to consider the financial impact of what they propose

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Feng Shixin has left his official role as the publication bureau chief at the Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department, people say. Photo: Xinhua


新华社照片,北京,2022年9月1日
    服贸会上感受科技亮点
    9月1日,在国家会议中心,观众体验工体元宇宙GTVerse。
    2022年中国国际服务贸易交易会于8月31日至9月5日在位于北京的国家会议中心和首钢园区举办,众多科技产品亮相展区,吸引观众驻足参观。
    新华社记者 任超 摄

Beijing giveth and Beijing taketh away, or is it the other way round this time?

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First, the industry watchdog inadvertently caused a market rout of almost US$80 billion after it announced a plan to tighten online gaming restrictions.

Then, just before Christmas Day, the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) approved 105 domestic online titles, along with 98 imported ones.

Calm was somewhat restored in the market. Certainly it helped that the NPPA quickly clarified the proposed restrictions were still at a draft stage.

Feng Shixin, the long-serving publication bureau chief, has left his post. Some observers think the NPPA may now reconsider some of the more severe restrictions.

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But, investors and industry insiders are worried.

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