The Chinese government issued gaming licenses (game service permits) in August, and three additional Korean games received approval. With this, Korean games have obtained a total of 14 licenses from China this year. As the issuance of licenses in China, the world's largest gaming market, becomes more active, interest from the gaming industry is growing. In fact, recently launched domestic games in China are also showing results.
According to the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) of China on the 26th, the agency announced the issuance of foreign gaming licenses for seven types of games the previous day. A game license is a type of service permit issued by China for games launched in the country. It is mandatory to obtain a license to sell in-game currency. The licenses are broadly categorized into domestic licenses (granted to games within China) and foreign licenses (granted to overseas games). The Korean games that received foreign licenses in August include ▲ Line Games' "Uncharted Waters: Origin" ▲ Smilegate's Supercreative's "Chaos Zero Nightmare" ▲ Epid Games' "Trickler Revive" among three others.
"Uncharted Waters: Origin" is an open-world massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) co-developed by Line Games' subsidiary Motif and Japanese game company Koei Tecmo Games. This title is a modern reinterpretation of the "Uncharted Waters" series, including "Uncharted Waters II," and officially launched in 2022. "Chaos Zero Nightmare" is a subculture RPG developed by Smilegate's Supercreative. This game is scheduled for global release in the second half of this year and has confirmed its entry into China before its release, achieving a double success. There are particularly high expectations for Supercreative's proven 2D animation technology.
"Trickler Revive" is a collectible RPG released by the small game company Epid Games in 2021. Initially, this game had modest results in the domestic market; however, after several tests over two years to enhance its quality, it recorded the fifth highest revenue ranking on Google Play Store and was dubbed a representative game of "chart resurgence." Epid Games has actively participated in events, including joining the largest subculture event in China, "Bilibili World 2025," in July, which led to their success in obtaining licenses.
As a result, the total number of Korean games that received licenses from Chinese authorities this year has increased to 13. Previously, Chinese authorities issued licenses for ▲ 2 types in January ▲ 1 type in March ▲ 2 types in May ▲ 4 types in June ▲ 1 type in July. This is the largest issuance since the halt in licensing Korean games due to the Korean Wave restrictions (Hanryu Limit) in 2017. In 2016, before the restrictions, 35 Korean game titles received licenses, but from 2017, when the situation began, not a single license was issued for Korean games for three years. However, since the resumption of license issuance, the numbers have shown an upward trend with ▲ 1 type in 2020 ▲ 2 types in 2021 ▲ 8 types in 2022 ▲ 8 types in 2023 ▲ 11 types in 2024.
Domestic games that started services in China following the issuance of licenses are also showing results. "Eternal Return," developed by Neptune's subsidiary Nimble Neuron, started services on the PC game platform "WeGame" last June, after the issuance of its license in December last year. It recorded the fifth position in new product popularity rankings and received recommendations from about 90% of users. This game achieved the first position in the popularity of new foreign games through three local tests since March. SHIFT UP's "Goddess of Victory: Nikke" achieved nearly 10 billion won in sales on the Apple App Store alone within a month of its launch in China.
China's increase in issuing licenses for domestic games is positive, as it is the world's largest game export market. According to a report from the annual meeting of the Chinese gaming industry, last year's market size reached approximately 325.783 billion yuan (about 65 trillion won), growing 7.53% compared to the previous year, and the number of users reached about 674 million, an increase of 0.94% year-on-year. The proportion of the domestic gaming market is also significant. According to a report from the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), sales from China accounted for 25.5% of last year's domestic game exports, amounting to 2.7941 trillion won.
A member of the gaming industry said, "Entering the Chinese market is a key indicator that can rebound performance, so the issuance of licenses is important. The fact that the number of licenses has been increasing since the resumption of issuance is positive."