China’s game regulator State Administration of Press and Publication (SAPP) has approved 33 new games for launch in the country today.
As spotted by Niko partners senior analyst Danial Ahmad (via Twitter), the body approved a host of new games including League of Legends: Wild Rift, the upcoming mobile adaption of the popular MOBA from Riot Games.
The game is currently running a regional open-beta, with a release expected later this year. Riot owners Tencent will be looking to capitalise off of its success with Honor of Kings, not only in China but in Western territories too.
Another big game on the list is the controversial Diablo Immortal from Blizzard Entertainment. The first mobile game in the Diablo franchise was originally announced way back at Blizzcon in 2018, though has yet to be given a release date. The approval for release in China adds to rumours that the free-to-play action RPG will launch in 2021.
Party time
Pokémon Quest and Super Mario Party were both given the go-ahead as well, giving the Nintendo Switch another couple of games to add to its line-up.
The Switch originally only launched with only New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe in December 2019, before Super Mario Odyssey and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe were subsequently approved in March 2020.
This is also the first Pokémon game made available on mobile in the country. It was noted by Ahmad that Pokémon GO was never “approached”, which considering China’s laws on privacy and the map tracking utilised in-game, likely meaning it will never be permitted.
Further notable game approvals included Rayman Legend, EVE Echoes, War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Game Dev Tycoon and Ylands.
The Chinese games regulator previously approved a total of 1,411 games throughout the entirety of 2020, so for any title that is able to make the cut, can prove quite lucrative.
