On April 11, the Press and Publications Administration released the "Approval Information for Domestic Online Games in April 2022", of which a total of 45 online games were approved.
In the early morning of April 12, the game section opened significantly, but then dived. Among them, heartbeat company (02400. HK) opened 15% higher and closed up just 0.42%; Zhongqingbao (300052. SZ) opened 8.8% higher and closed up 4.75%; 37 Interactive Entertainment (002555. SZ) opened 7.8 percent higher and closed down 1.95 percent.
However, some individual stocks performed strongly, and glacier network (300533. SZ) up to 20%, Bilibili (09626. HK) surged 12.79%; Youzu Network (002174. SZ) up to 10%, the entire sector is clearly differentiated.
A number of games were approved, and the chairman wept with joy
The so-called "game version number", that is, the publication approval of online games, means that before the online game is published online, an application must be submitted to the competent administrative department for publication of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government, and after review and approval, it is reported to the State Press and Publication Administration for approval and the "approval document number" and "online game publication number (ISBN)" obtained.
In essence, the version number is the "license" of the game industry. If you can't get the version number, the game can't be launched smoothly, and it can't be monetized by selling virtual goods and player recharge.
The resumption of the release of the version will undoubtedly boost the development of the industry and will largely alleviate the pressure of layoffs faced by the game industry.
On the night of the 11th, Huang Yimeng, chairman of The Heartbeat Network, sighed in the circle of friends: "Finally there is a version number, and I cry with joy." ”
It is reported that a total of 45 games have passed the approval this time, including 37 mobile games, 5 client games, 2 casual puzzle mobile games, and 1 Switch game.
Listed companies include Heartbeat Company "Party Star", 37 Mutual Entertainment "Dream Voyage", Gigabit/Thunder "Tower Hunter" and "Box Fission", Youzu Network "Young Three Kingdoms: Pocket Battle", Jinshan/Xishanju "Sword Net 3 Origins", Dreamland "Careful Fire Candle", Friendship Time/Fun Friend "Zero Relic", Zhongqingbao "Cast Timemaker", Baidu "Attack rabbit", red game "Way Forward" (developer Qian Qian Network (Kaiying Network Investment), Tencent Technical Support, etc.
There are also many small and medium-sized game manufacturers, such as "Shashi Town Time" of Chongqing Pasia Technology Co., Ltd., "Pottery Master" of Shanghai Lingyin Culture Communication Co., Ltd., "Cute Cat Defense Battle" of Shenzhen Meow Star Interactive Technology Co., Ltd., "Honorary Strike Worker" of Shenzhen Liangwu Game Technology Co., Ltd.
Most of the people who got the version number in this round are domestic second-tier game companies, as well as some small and medium-sized game manufacturers. Domestic game industry giants Tencent and NetEase are not on the list for the time being.
Industry insiders said that there may be policy-level thinking behind this. At present, the competition in the mainland game industry has intensified, the Matthew effect of the industry is obvious, and the living environment of small and medium-sized companies is grim.
For up to 8 months, the game version number "opened the floodgates" again
In recent years, the competent authorities have paid more and more attention to the protection of minors in the game industry and the prevention of addiction, and issued a series of relevant regulatory notices. In mid-2021, the mainland issued the Notice on Further Strict Management to Effectively Prevent Minors from Addicting to Online Games, which was called "the strictest and strongest anti-addiction regulations in history" by many people.
The notice requires that the time to provide online game services to minors is strictly limited, and all online game companies can only provide 1 hour of service to minors from 20:00 to 21:00 every day on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and statutory holidays. This means that, under normal circumstances, underage gamers can play up to 3 hours per week.
In addition, the policy has issued relevant regulations on gameplay and content, game promotion, game approval and other aspects. Since July 22, 2021, the State Press and Publication Administration has suspended the issuance of game version numbers, and the game industry has entered a "cold winter".
The re-release of approvals has been 8 months since the last time the version number was issued in July. During this period, the game industry experienced a lot of turmoil, and many companies faced project halves, layoffs and cost reductions, and stock prices fell.
In addition, the number of game versions is also decreasing. In 2016 and 2017, the approved game version numbers were 4050 and 9369 respectively, while in 2019, 2020 and 2021, 1365, 1308 and 679 were passed respectively.
From this point of view, only 45 versions were issued after the restart of this version, and the number is still decreasing, which may be one of the reasons why the game section is high and low today.
(Source: China Business Daily)
However, if there are two batches of game versions this month, and the number of next batch releases remains at 45 or more, the number of game products that may be approved this month will be more than the average number of approved products in the 7 months before the restart.
In general, the trend of game version approval is strict and tight, which also makes game companies need to focus more on high-quality games, while improving overseas market development capabilities and continuously improving competitiveness.
The latest research report of CITIC Securities pointed out that the first batch of domestic online game version numbers resumed in 2022, affirming the rectification effect of the game industry in the past 8 months, and for the policy orientation of the game industry, adhering to the strategy of high-quality content to the game and reducing game addiction, strengthening the protection of minors, and encouraging going to sea will become the long-term development path of the game industry in the future. With the resumption of game version numbers, the game industry as a whole is expected to pick up.
More importantly, the release of this edition number is not only a positive signal for the game industry, but also for the entire Internet industry, and will have a positive effect on the confidence of the primary market, the secondary market and the entire industry.
Conclusion ——
Since 2021, the overall valuation of the game industry has been suppressed, and the reissuance of the game version number is expected to boost the overall valuation of the industry. Short-term stock price movements are more related to market volatility and investor style preferences.
In the long run, the domestic game industry has experienced many rounds of reshuffling, small and medium-sized game companies have accelerated their clearance, large game companies have embarked on the road of 'boutique + going to sea', with the advancement of the follow-up game going to sea strategy, the penetration rate of meta-universe and VR/AR games has increased, and the core driving logic of the game sector will gradually appear in 2022.
As of press time, 3 of the 34 listed companies in the game industry have released their 2021 annual reports, of which Gigabit achieved operating income of 4.619 billion yuan, an increase of 68.44% year-on-year; and achieved a net profit attributable to the mother of 1.468 billion yuan, an increase of 40.34% year-on-year.
flying fish