On December 25, the National Press and Publication Administration announced the version number of domestic online games in December, and 105 new games were approved. Tencent's "Counter War: Future", NetEase's "Firefly Assault" and so on are listed. It is understood that the 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.
Just a few days ago, on December 22, the National Press and Publication Administration officially released the "Measures for the Administration of Online Games (Draft for Solicitation of Comments)", which caused heated discussions in the market. After the release of the "Opinion Draft", a number of game stocks fell to the limit. At the close of Hong Kong stocks on the same day, the two leading companies of Tencent and NetEase fell by more than 12% and 24% respectively.
After the new regulations, the news of the new batch of version numbers was released one after another, conveying the clear attitude of the competent authorities to actively support the development of online games.
According to the statistics of the National Press and Publication Administration and the Game Industry Network, 748 game versions were issued in 2021, of which 672 were made in China and 76 were imported, 512 game versions were issued in 2022, 468 were made in China and 44 were imported, and 1,075 game versions were issued so far in 2023, of which 977 were made in China and 98 were imported. The three-year data shows that the stability of the version number policy has gradually increased, and the game market has rebounded significantly.
The solicitation of opinions on the new regulations has aroused heated discussions
The new regulations on online games released this time have undoubtedly attracted a lot of attention in the market.
The Measures for the Administration of Online Games (Draft for Solicitation of Comments) enumerates a number of contents, including: online game publishing business units must not provide or condone high-priced trading of virtual props in the form of speculation, auctions, etc., and online game live broadcasts must not have high rewards, etc. However, the focus of everyone's attention is mainly on a few detailed rules, such as "online games are not allowed to set up inducing rewards such as daily login, first recharge, and continuous recharge." "All online games must set user recharge limits and publicize them in their service rules, and pop-up warnings should be given to users' irrational consumption behaviors. "Wait.
After the release of the new regulations, the National Press and Publication Administration responded, and the relevant person in charge said that the draft for comments is based on ensuring and promoting the prosperity and healthy development of the online game industry, and has made clear the solution to the problems such as the access of online game business units, and has set up a special chapter on "protection and rewards", and proposed a series of incentive measures. At the same time, provisions are made for the protection of the rights and interests of minors and consumers.
It also said that the State Press and Publication Administration will carefully study the concerns and opinions raised by all parties on Articles 17, 18 and 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.
In this regard, a number of leading game companies also responded. NetEase Games said that in the past few years, under the guidance of the industry authorities, the game industry has maintained a good momentum of development, and has also made great progress in key areas such as the protection of minors. We believe that the release of this draft is mainly to make up for the lack of relevant management measures after 2019, and will not have a material impact on NetEase's business.
Zhang Wei, vice president of Tencent Games, responded that since the release of the new regulations in 2021, Tencent has been strictly implementing the management requirements, and the game time and consumption data of minors are currently at the lowest level in history. The Consultation Paper does not substantially change the key elements of the game, such as the business model and operation rhythm. The regulatory authorities have issued a draft of the new management measures to solicit opinions from the industry and society, which is believed to be more conducive to the orderly and healthy development of the game industry.
On the morning of December 25, the online game index continued to decline, and important constituents such as Giant Network (002558), Sanqi Mutual Entertainment (002555), Youzu Network (002174), and Kaiying Network (002517) fell across the board. Yao Ji Poker, Electric Soul Network (603258), Aofei Entertainment (002292), Perfect World (002624) and other stocks fell sharply, and once hit the fall limit in the intraday.
Regarding the reaction of the capital market, Zhang Shule, an industry commentator, said that the capital market is too tight, and the game industry has become a frightened bird, but waiting and hope are still the greatest wisdom.
Zhang Shule said that the rest is not only hope, but also opportunities. Avoiding irrational consumption and blocking the huge social controversy that may exist in the game industry is essentially to encourage game manufacturers to stick to users through innovative gameplay experience, rather than using marketing methods to trick users. At the same time, it can also avoid the related social problems caused by excessive gaming.
However, it is undeniable that due to the impact of the new regulations on online games, some games have added daily quotas, such as "minors over the age of 16 shall not exceed 100 yuan for a single recharge and 400 yuan per month".
Heavy krypton games have a big impact
Looking at the release of the new regulations, many game industry insiders said that "the impact is extensive and local".
Industry insiders generally believe that the series of policies introduced this time are mainly aimed at heavy krypton games, which have little impact on the marketing of stand-alone and low-krypton games, and have little impact on overseas games.
As mentioned in the Draft Opinions, "online games shall not set inducing rewards such as daily login, first top-up, and continuous top-up." "Mainly for game products that adopt the GaaS (Game as a Service) model;" All online games must set user recharge limits and publicize them in their service rules. It is aimed at games with high ARPU (average revenue per paid user), such as the "999 slash" game that is common on the web. Zhang Shule said that some mainstream boutique games will not have this problem, mainly some copycats and skin-changing games, such as the flood of legendary games, rely on routines to attract users and stimulate consumption, and the impact will be relatively large.
In addition, mini-program games, which have become a hot spot in the game industry this year, will also be further regulated. Article 63 of the Draft Opinion proposes that the management of domestic Mini Program online games with no storyline, simple gameplay, and no top-up consumption shall be separately provided for by the competent department for publication in accordance with the Regulations on the Administration of Publications and the principles of these Measures.
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. CITIC Securities (600030) said that the game industry is an industry that focuses on innovation, and through technological innovation such as AI and VR, as well as business model innovation in gameplay and categories, there are still development opportunities for China's game industry in the medium and long term, especially related companies that focus on content quality and overseas development.
With the popularity of Tencent's self-developed party games "Dream Star" and NetEase's "Egg Boy Party" this year, the game industry is ushering in new commercial value. It is understood that "Yuan Dream Star" topped the iOS free list only 90 minutes after the start of the service, and has dominated the list for 5 days, and entered the top 2 of the game's best-selling list. The data estimates that the turnover of iOS alone has exceeded 50 million yuan.
NetEase's 2022 financial report mentioned that "Egg Boy Party" has become the game with the highest number of daily active users in NetEase Games' history. In August 2023, the monthly active users of "Egg Boy Party" exceeded 100 million, and in December, the number of registered users of "Egg Boy Party" exceeded 500 million.
With the popularity of new types of games and the release of new regulations, it is believed that the game industry is about to usher in new changes.
(Editor in charge: Han Yijia)
Source: Hexun stock Li Minhe