China's Gaming Regulator Approves 111 New Titles Including Black Myth: Wukong, Sparking Industry Optimism After December Stock Rout

China's gaming regulator approved 111 new titles in February, including the highly-anticipated Black Myth: Wukong. Other approved games include Infinite Nikki and Perfect New World. Black Myth: Wukong is developed by Game Science and has garnered significant attention for its impressive gameplay.

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China's video gaming industry received a much-needed boost as the country's gaming regulator approved 111 new titles in February. Among the approved games is the highly-anticipated Black Myth: Wukong, which has been generating significant excitement among Chinese gamers. This comes as a positive development for the industry, following a stock rout in December.

The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), the government body responsible for licensing video games in China, released its latest list of approved domestic titles on Tuesday. In January, the NPPA gave the green light to 115 Chinese titles, followed by 32 imported games earlier this month.

In addition to Black Myth: Wukong, other games approved in February include Infinite Nikki, an open-world dress-up adventure game developed by Chinese studio Papergames, and Perfect New World, an open-world action role-playing game developed by Chinese firm Perfect World.

Interestingly, NetEase had one new title approved, while Tencent Holdings, the largest video game operator in China, did not receive any approvals this time around.

Black Myth: Wukong, developed by Hangzhou-based studio Game Science, has been eagerly awaited by Chinese gamers. The game was first announced in 2020 and gained attention for its impressive gameplay and high visual fidelity showcased in a 13-minute demo reel.

Some gamers believe that Black Myth: Wukong has the potential to become one of China's first successful AAA games. The term "AAA" refers to premium titles with larger production budgets and advanced technology and art.

According to the developer's website, the game is set to launch on personal computers in August, with a console release date yet to be determined.

The approval of Black Myth: Wukong sparked a surge in interest on Chinese social media platform Weibo, with the game becoming one of the top trending searches. Gamers celebrated the approval, but there were also concerns that the domestic version of the game might be subject to censorship, potentially removing mythical or gory elements.

These latest approvals provide a much-needed boost to the video gaming market in China. The industry suffered a significant setback in December when a draft regulation aimed at curbing excessive playing and spending caused billions of dollars in value to be wiped out from Chinese gaming stocks. In an effort to contain the damage, Beijing removed the notice of the draft regulation from the NPPA website, and a key official overseeing the video gaming market stepped down.

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• China's gaming regulator approved 111 new titles in February, including the highly-anticipated Black Myth: Wukong.

• Other approved games include Infinite Nikki and Perfect New World.

• Black Myth: Wukong is developed by Game Science and has garnered significant attention for its impressive gameplay.

Source: SCMP