China welcomes VALORANT as one of 44 licensed gaming titles by NPPA

In a recent turn of events, China's National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) announced on Wednesday that it would be awarding 44 publishing licenses to foreign video game titles. This essentially means that Chinese publishers would be allowed to import these games and distribute them in China. Tencent, one of china's largest video game companies, known for publishing major titles like PUBGM (Players Unknown BattleGrounds: Mobile), has gotten the green light by receiving five licenses, which allows them to publish games like Nintendo's Pokemon: Unite and Riot Games' Valorant. The full list of the 44 licensed titles can be found on NPPA's official site.

What this means for Valorant Esports in China

Due to the strict nature of China's regulatory body, many Valorant fans and esports fans, in general, living in China have yet to take advantage of the opportunity to play their favorite game or get into the esports scene. Many players looking to make it in esports, especially Valorant, have had to resort to means like VPNs just to play.

The inclusion of Valorant as one of the titles getting a publishing license in China comes at a much-needed time. With esports being recognized globally and Chinese players already making a name for themselves in the Valorant community, this news means Valorant is now easily accessible to anyone in China who wants to play for fun or get into the esports scene. It also makes hosting matches and tournaments in China much easier, so players can expect the launching of some new Valorant leagues in the region.

The Future of Gaming In China

This marks an end to China's long crackdown on video games, which began last August and slowed down the video game market in China, the world's largest gaming market. Unlike in other countries, video games need approval from regulators before they can be published in china. This dealt a significant blow to tech companies like Tencent and NetEase, who make significant revenue from video games.

Asides from Tencent, companies like NetEase, XD Inc, ByteDance, iDreamSky, etc., have also received licenses to publish games, with 84 domestic titles approved alongside the 45 foreign titles like CD Projekt Red's "Gwent: The Witcher Card Game" and Klei Entertainment "Don't Starve." This shows that the future of gaming in China is back on track, even though it's still baby steps as of now compared to 456 in 2017 and the 78 foreign titles approved in 2021.

It is safe to say that China's regulatory body is slowly opening itself up to video games from other countries, as it's no secret that the country has strict regulations in place to limit the influence of foreign media in China. We hope to see more AAA titles enter the Chinese market, both domestic and foreign games because we all deserve to enjoy and witness these carefully created and crafted masterpieces, no matter where we live.

If you are a gamer and live in china, be sure to check out some of these games once they've been released, and for gamers living elsewhere, stay on the lookout for some amazing games from these Chinese developers and have fun with them.