Author 丨Cai Shuyue, Wu Liyang
Editor丨Zhu Wei Jing
Figure Source 丨 Figure worm
After eight months of suspension of online game titles, the game market has finally ushered in exciting good news.
According to the official website of the State Press and Publication Administration, a new batch of domestic online game versions have been officially issued on the evening of April 11, including Thunder Interactive's "Box Fission", Youzu's "Junior Three Kingdoms: Pocket War", Zhongqingbao's "Casting Timemaker" and a total of 45 games.
In the eight months when the version number recovery time is unknown, the game company has experienced multiple storms such as project halving, layoffs and cost reductions, and stock prices bottoming out. During this period, there were also many market rumors that the online game version number would be resumed, but in the end, they were unfortunately disappointed.
A number of experts said in an interview with the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that the resumption of online game version number issuance will be good for the entire Internet industry, but the competition for version numbers after the resumption of approval will also be more intense.
On the other hand, the eagerly awaited secondary market was also driven by the news. On April 11, the three major U.S. stock indexes collectively opened low, with the Dow down 0.48%, the Nasdaq down 1.19%, and the S&P 500 down 0.70%. Intraday Game Stocks are hi, as of press time, Bilibili rose more than 12%, NetEase, Huya, Douyu rose more than 3%.
After 8 months, the version number was restarted
On the afternoon of April 11, a number of game industry insiders confirmed to the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that the distribution of game version numbers has recently restarted before tonight's official news is released. One of the sources close to the official revealed to reporters that some provincial version offices have received a version number notice, which will be announced on the official website of the State Press and Publication Administration as soon as tonight.
At 8:00 p.m. on the 11th, the official website of the State Press and Publication Administration officially announced the approval information of the first batch of domestic online games in 2022, and the public information showed that this round involved 45 approved games, including Thunder Interactive "Box Fission", Youzu "Young Three Kingdoms: Pocket War", Zhongqingbao "Casting Timemaker" and so on.
For the news that the online game version number was resumed, many game company employees could not hide their joy when interviewed by 21 reporters.
The relevant person in charge of the heartbeat network told 21 reporters that the company has confirmed that its game "Party Star" has obtained a version number. "In the first half of last year, "Party Star" has entered the review process, and before the release of the version number was suspended in July last year, the game has responded to several rounds of comments, so the company is expected that once the version number is restored, "Party Star" can get the version number." He said.
As for the April edition issue of this incident, the person in charge said that due to the previous rumors of the recovery of the edition number, the heartbeat did not bet on the April edition number, and since this year, the company's business direction has also been in accordance with the industry's lower edition number recovery and issuance expectations, to carry out strategic and business planning. Therefore, for "Party Star" to get the version number, there is a marginal improvement in the company's domestic business expectations this year.
"I can finally breathe a sigh of relief." A senior employee of a medium-sized game company in Shanghai sighed, "Although there are no games from our company in the list, we finally see hope." ”
It is worth mentioning that since the introduction of new anti-addiction regulations on online games on August 30, 2021, in the 8 months, the official website of the State Press and Publication Administration has not published any official news related to the version number.
In this time full of all kinds of true and false rumors, the game company, as a direct stakeholder, has been impacted by all sides, and the emotions have been repeatedly stirred by various news that the version number will be issued.
The middle-level leader of a game company told 21 reporters that it was impossible to apply for a new version number, which meant that the project under development could not be launched in time. The immediate result of this dilemma is layoffs. Some insiders told 21 reporters that many project teams were forced to disband because they could not get the version number, and there were even projects with an investment of more than 100 million. "If you can't get the version number, the company is forced to reduce costs and increase efficiency, and it can't raise this batch of employees in vain." He said.
In addition, an employee of a head game manufacturer recently revealed to 21 reporters that after laying off some of the project team employees, some positions within the company have locked in HeadCount (establishment, position), and there is no plan to expand new employees in the short term.
Zhang Yi, CEO of Ai Media Consulting, said in an interview with reporters that the existence of certain chaos in online games is indeed an indisputable fact in the industry in the past period of time, and from the perspective of economics, there is also the existence of an industry bubble. At present, after a period of adjustment, it is conducive to the return of the entire industry to the normal state of compliance development.
Behind the positive is a more fierce version of the "scramble"
A number of experts said in an interview with 21 reporters that the resumption of online game version numbers is undoubtedly a "cardiotonic agent" with excellent effect on the game industry.
Zhu Junchao, the founder of the Nuocheng Game Law and a game lawyer, pointed out in an interview with 21 reporters that the resumption of the release of the version number means that the new game has the opportunity to officially launch operations, "The re-establishment of the track will be directly beneficial to the game companies that develop any type of game." He pointed out.
Zhang Yi said that in the past period of time, due to the suspension of the distribution of the version number, most of the game companies have borne a lot of operating pressure, the news of the release of the version number is not only for the game industry, but also for the entire Internet economic market to release a positive signal, the primary market, the secondary market and the entire industry confidence boost, will bring a very positive effect.
He further pointed out that games, as an important industry of digital entertainment, through the combination of technology and culture, also help to alleviate the anxiety of the audience, bring about spiritual relaxation, and its benefits for the consumer side can also be expected.
However, the resumption of version numbers does not mean that game companies can sit back and relax. Sun Lei, a partner at Beijing Yuanhe Law Firm and an expert in game law, analyzed to 21 reporters that the more direct benefits of issuing are "capital confidence", such as directly affecting stock prices. For the industry, there are certainly many better editions than no, but they do not necessarily have an immediate impact: "Just like eating, eating will not be good in the industry immediately." ”
In addition, the version number resumed issuance after eight months, and the backlog of audits was inevitable. Some insiders have revealed to 21 reporters that although the list of approval of the version number has not been announced in the previous months, the approval process has not been suspended. Combined with the background of the previous version number issuance total regulation, this also means that game companies will face a more fierce version number "scramble". So, how should game companies respond to this situation?
Zhang Yi believes that after the release of the version number is restored, it will definitely be managed in an orderly manner under certain rules, and the industry still needs to do a good job in the expectation that the version number is a scarce resource; on the other hand, the most important thing in the version number application is the compliance of the content, which brings enlightenment to the game company is that in the design and production of the product, it is necessary to be more cautious at the content level to ensure the health of the content and the reverence for the market.
Zhu Junchao pointed out that after the resumption of the issuance of the version number, the game company should ensure the compliance of its game content, actively communicate with the publishing house and the regulatory authorities during the development process, and timely adjust the games that do not meet the review requirements. At the same time, it is also necessary to understand every link of approval, so as to avoid omissions in one link and cause the game to be re-modified and need to re-go through the process.
"It takes a lot of time and effort to re-review each time you hit a revision, and game companies should repeatedly check the game content before submitting it for review to reduce unnecessary waste of time." He said.
Editor of this issue Wang Tingting Intern Zhan Huinan