After seven years of waiting by the Chinese community, one of the most popular MOBAs in mobile video games, Mobile Legends Bang Bang, or MLBB as we know it, has been approved for release in China.
Remember that all video games developed outside China must go through different filters to be published in this country. Finally, the NPPA or National Press and Publication Administration of China is the one that decides on the publication or not of foreign titles.
After a long wait, Chinese gamers can finally play MLBB on their mobile devices without problems.
NPPA approves the launch of MLBB in China
On April 18, MLBB was approved by the NPPA for release in China. This was reported by subzidite2 on its Twitter account.
OFFICIAL: @MobileLegendsOL HAS BEEN APPROVED IN CHINA
MLBB is part of the NPPA April 2023 Batch, under entry #57
Chinese Name "决胜巅峰" (Juéshèng diānfēng // Win the Peak)
The 7 year wait is over.https://t.co/kcQbcbGIiX pic.twitter.com/M93GXW38kt
— hesketh2 (@subzidite2) April 20, 2023
There is no doubt that this news is a great victory for Moonton. MLBB was launched in mid-2016 for the entire world. However, due to the strict regulations that the NPPA has, it is extremely complicated to get approval to launch it in China.
On the other hand, we should also remember that ByteDance, the developer of the popular video app TikTok, bought Moonton in 2021. This acquisition was part of a plan that the company had to help the exponential and, above all, the company’s rapid growth. Thanks to this, this developer company has been very popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
The Chinese market is excellent for videogames
China is one of the main communities within esports; it is no surprise there are millions of players in this country. Popular videogames tend to have many delays in being published in this country. This has happened with VALORANT, Wild Rift, and Pokémon United. In addition, many more video games have been released in China more than a year after the game’s global release.
On the other hand, if we consider the revenue issue in MOBA titles, China also figures as one of the most important markets. That is why developers always want their games published in this country. In addition, the esports community in China is known worldwide for its fondness for MOBA games.
Some changes in MLBB in China
In addition to some changes in the game’s name, the character designs will likely have some changes in the Chinese version of MLBB. Also, some leakers have shared videos about how the characters will look in the Chinese version of the game. Recall that these leakers have access to test this video game.
Like many other things, these changes also obey the NPPA guidelines and their rigidity when approving the release of foreign titles.
The MLBB scene has grown in recent years
No doubt, Moonton has done a phenomenal job in the competitive MLBB scene. Over the past few years, it has captured an incredibly large fan base. In addition, they also break records in viewership every time there is a major tournament.
Recall that the M4 MLBB World Championship, which was played in early January, had a record audience of 4.26M viewers.
Header: MLBB
