The number has exceeded 100, the issuance of domestic game version numbers has hit a new high, and three major consensus has been formed for the development of the game industry

(1) The data of the past three years show that the game market has rebounded significantly;

(2) The number of domestic versions issued this time is more than 100, and the quality of games is expected to become the mainstream trend of industry development.

(3) The growth center of the industry is expected to move upward.

On the morning of December 25th, the National Press and Publication Administration released a newly approved 105 domestic game version numbers, Tencent's "Counter War: Future", NetEase's "Firefly Assault", etc., the number reached 105, and the number of domestic game versions approved in a single time exceeded 100 for the first time in December, a new high, and covering a wide range of game companies.

Yuan Weijia, a senior analyst of Internet media at Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, said that with the increase in edition numbers, the supply of the industry is expected to be further boosted, and the growth center of the industry is expected to move up. Zhang Liangwei and Zhou Liangjiu, researchers at Soochow Securities, believe that the increase in edition numbers is continuing to release positive signals that support the prosperity and healthy development of the online game industry.

Just last Friday, December 22, the National Press and Publication Administration solicited public opinions on the "Measures for the Administration of Online Games (Draft for Solicitation of Comments)", which attracted attention. Articles 17 and 18 of the Draft for Comments mainly focus on "prohibiting forced battles" and "restricting excessive use and high consumption of games", such as "online games must not set inducing rewards such as daily login, first recharge, and continuous recharge".

According to the draft for comments, most mobile games and client games in China may face varying degrees of impact. The long-term impact is not yet clear, but it may have an impact on the gaming industry in the short term, especially in terms of game retention, card gacha, monetization, etc. Zhang Xueqing and Yu Xinyao, researchers at CICC, believe that the draft is actually intended to make up for the lack of management measures (the Interim Measures were previously abolished in 2019) and aim to promote the prosperity and healthy development of the industry.

It must be noted that the consultation period for the draft is until January 22, 2024. Also on December 23, the relevant person in charge of the National Press and Publication Administration responded to social concerns and said that the draft for comments aims to promote the prosperity and healthy development of the industry.

The person in charge said that the State Press and Publication Administration will carefully study the concerns and opinions raised by all parties on Article 17, Article 18 and some other contents of the draft for comments, and will further revise and improve them on the basis of continuing to listen to the opinions of relevant departments, enterprises, users and other parties.

Some market participants said that after the release of the draft for comments, it is expected to be affected, but the relevant departments quickly stated that they would "carefully study" and "further revise and improve", which reflects the respect for public opinion. CICC researchers Zhang Xueqing and Yu Xinyao also further judged that the Draft Opinion will not substantially change the business model of the game industry after absorbing the opinions of all parties. The new policy emphasizes that it aims to ensure the healthy development of the industry, and will listen to the opinions of all parties for revision and improvement.

Consensus 1: The game version number is more than 100 issued, and the supply of the industry is expected to be boosted

Promoting the development of the game industry in a high-quality, orderly and healthy direction is the common expectation of the entire industry and the regulatory authorities. Since the restart of domestic game versions in 2022, the number of version numbers has risen steadily, and the main number of approvals has stabilized at 80-90 each time. According to the data, a total of 98 import editions will be issued in 2023, which is higher than the level of 2020-2022.

With the approval rhythm of the "normalization + big force" version, the quality of games is expected to become the mainstream trend of the development of the game industry. Yuan Weijia, a senior analyst of Internet media at Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, believes that since 2022, the general direction of the game industry entering normalized supervision has not changed, and the scientific and technological innovation value and cultural value of games have been paid more and more attention.

Zhang Liangwei and Zhou Liangjiu, researchers at Soochow Securities, said that the issuance of high-quality and normalized edition numbers has laid the confidence in the development of game companies, and also allowed game companies to focus on high-quality, scientific and technological innovation, cultural going to sea, etc., Chinese games, especially mobile games, have a leading advantage in the global market, and I believe that under the guidance of regulatory authorities such as standardization and quality, they will develop with higher quality and prosperity.

Consensus 2: The stability of the policy began to increase, and more than 1,000 versions were released in three years

From a policy point of view, on the one hand, despite the expected intervention of Friday's policy adjustment, the number of approved editions has exceeded 100, which has also helped to restore the confidence of game companies, which is very encouraging. This new batch of edition numbers is a batch of domestic online game editions approved by the National Press and Publication Administration after a new batch of imported online game editions were approved on December 22. On December 22, the third batch of imported edition numbers was issued, with a quantity of 40, and key products such as "One Punch Man: World" were listed.

According to the statistics of the National Press and Publication Administration and the Game Industry Network, in 2021, the mainland issued 748 game version numbers, of which 672 were made in China and 76 were imported, 512 game versions were issued in 2022, 468 of which were made in China and 44 were imported, and so far in 2023, 1,075 game versions were issued, of which 977 were made in China and 98 were imported. Some people in the industry believe that the data of the past three years show that the stability of the version number policy has gradually increased, and the game market has rebounded significantly.

Zhang Liangwei and Zhou Liangjiu also said that in December, imported editions and domestic editions were issued one after another, and a single batch of domestic editions exceeded 100 for the first time, an increase of about 15+ from the previous month, verifying that the tone of regulatory support for the development of the game industry has not changed, which is expected to boost investor confidence.

On the other hand, with the continuous introduction of regulatory measures and the continuous enhancement of game companies' awareness of legal compliance, the industry's expectations for policy supervision have gradually stabilized. Focusing on Friday's draft for comments, industry insiders analyzed that theoretically, the original intention of the National Press and Publication Administration was to force game manufacturers to force game manufacturers through in-game inducing reward adjustments, and put more attention on the gameplay design and operation of the game itself.

It is worth noting that the protection of minors is a prerequisite for the healthy development of the game industry, and with the continuous introduction of measures to protect minors, game companies have also taken corresponding measures to prevent minors from becoming addicted to games and excessive consumption. The gaming industry is positive. In terms of going overseas, the state has also been introducing corresponding policies to encourage it, including financial support, talent training and introduction, and intellectual property protection.

Consensus 3: The growth center of the industry is expected to move upward, and model innovation is expected to grow

The "14th Five-Year Plan" for the development of cultural industries clearly states that it is necessary to promote the integrated development of e-sports and game and amusement industries. According to the latest "2023 China Game Industry Report", the actual sales revenue of the domestic game market exceeded the 300 billion mark for the first time this year, and the number of users reached a new high, reaching 668 million.

According to authoritative sources, since the beginning of this year, the scale of the game industry has stabilized and rebounded, the quality of content has been significantly improved, scientific and technological innovation has been accelerated, and overseas markets have continued to develop, making positive contributions to optimizing cultural supply, promoting the application of scientific and technological innovation, empowering economic and social development and overseas dissemination of Chinese culture.

The reporter also noticed that just after the edition number was issued, the Game Working Committee also issued a document on December 25, mentioning that it was hoped that the majority of member units of the association would take this opportunity to strive to launch more high-quality products, promote the high-quality development of the online game industry, and contribute to the prosperity and development of culture and the construction of a cultural power. It can be seen that game companies will focus more on market exploration, model innovation, self-research innovation and technological innovation in the future, and actively explore overseas markets.

Zhang Xueqing and Yu Xinyao, researchers at CICC, said that the game industry leads the two-way integration of technology and culture, and promotes scientific and technological innovation and high-quality cultural dissemination. Games are a fusion of technology and culture, which is conducive to aggregating scientific and technological and cultural resources, amplifying the core value of the industry, and promoting the common progress of society.

Science and technology: Games have become an important field for exploring the application of scientific and technological innovation and feeding back the development of cross-industry development, and have made significant contributions and promoted in promoting the development of underlying communication facilities, promoting the upgrading and iteration of the chip industry, expanding AI applications, and promoting the progress of MR technology, releasing relatively powerful digital productivity.

Culture: For China, companies such as Tencent, NetEase, and miHoYo continue to explore ways to go global, making games an effective carrier for inheriting and promoting excellent Chinese culture and telling Chinese stories to the outside world.

Game companies also give full play to the cultural communication power and influence of game products, and promote cooperation with industries such as cultural tourism and consumption with "Game+".

(Source: Finance Associated Press)