China approves 128 new games including Supercell’s Squad Busters

• The newer approvals also come after the successful launch of the country’s first triple-A game Black Myth: Wukong. 

China has approved another 128 games, including Supercell‘s Squad Busters and the upcoming Goddess of Victory: New Hope. 

As reported by the South China Morning Post, the approvals were made public last week by the country’s National Press and Publication Administration, which licences video games.  

Goddess of Victory: New Hope is the domestic version of Goddess of Victory: Nikke, which was developed by South Korea’s Shift Up, in which Tencent holds a 35% stake.  

The domestic release will be co-published by Tencent and Migu Fun, a platform owned by China Mobile. Tencent is also the domestic distributor for Squad Busters. 

Non-stop approvals 

In 2024, China has consistently approved over 100 domestic video games each month, while foreign game approvals occur approximately every two months. 

This increase follows a government effort to revive the industry after a crackdown in 2021. The newer approvals also come after the successful launch of the country’s first triple-A game Black Myth: Wukong. 

In addition to the latest approvals of Supercell’s Squad Busters, the studio recently revealed it is hiring a “small cross-functional team” based in London to support the game’s development.

This comes after the company’s first-ever chief marketing officer, Fernanda Romano departed less than a year in the role.