Finally, Riot Games titles will be playable in China following an official announcement by the local government. In addition, China has re-established the approval process for publishing foreign-developed games within the country.
This was announced today, the day 45 different games were approved for licensing in the country to be published during December. Including VALORANT, from the American company Riot Games.
Official announcement
The National Press and Publication Administration in China announced that Riot Games’ FPS, VALORANT, will be available for play in the country starting today.
BREAKING NEWS — 🇨🇳 China's gaming regulator (National Press and Publication Administration) has announced the approval of publishing licenses for 44 online games, including VALORANT (无畏契约).
List of approved games: https://t.co/D6LiQaoB4q
The time has come #VALO2ASIA pic.twitter.com/Iak2q1lryd
— VALO2ASIA (@VALO2ASIA) December 28, 2022
With this, the video game regulator approved both VALORANT and the other five famous titles from the Tencent conglomerate, owned by Riot Games. This means Chinese gamers will finally have access to this awesome video game.
哇塞 我听说 VALORANT 在中国终于发布了!!!
Looks like VALORANT has finally been approved in China! After seeing and meeting EDG I can’t wait to see what the rest of the region has to offer 😱 加油!!
— Yinsu (@YinsuCollins) December 28, 2022
This does not mean that Chinese players have not been able to play this Riot title. Instead, many of them used a VPN to play with the Hong Kong servers.
Despite the restrictions in their country, many professional teams have flourished, such as EDward Gaming, a team that played in this year’s VALORANT Champions.
Suspension of videogame licenses
This comes as China’s video game market was directly affected by the seasonal suspension of videogame licensing in August 2021. In April 2022, the videogame licensing accreditation began only for Chinese titles.
Long before the ban, the Chinese government implemented several strict measures, limiting young people’s time playing video games.
Extreme government measures for a vast community
It is no secret that the various restrictions on video games in China have resulted in children spending much less time in front of screens. Moreover, the research company CNG and the China Gaming Industry Group Committee praised the measures taken.
There is no doubt that these are very aggressive measures. So, little by little, time will prove or disprove them. But, on this occasion, it does not seem to prove them right.
China is, without a doubt, one of the leading markets for different video game companies. In addition, Riot Games has 27 servers in China, which has allowed millions of people to play their games.
This change in China’s national regulations means that players must now be able to access Riot’s servers without the need to use a VPN.
Header: Riot Games
