China's Strong Gaming Offensive but 'Pan-Ho' Remains Limited [Bu Aeri's Game Dictionary]

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] The gaming industry has been stirred by China's recent issuance of game licenses (game service permits) for domestic games. This has heightened expectations for the Chinese market, which is worth approximately 48 trillion won. However, some voices express concerns that the rosy outlook may be premature.

According to the gaming industry on the 3rd, the National Press and Publication Administration of China issued a game license for Pearl Abyss's 'Black Desert Mobile' on the 29th of last month. A Pearl Abyss representative said, "We are working closely with our partners related to the Chinese service," adding, "Since Black Desert Mobile ranks 3rd in the mobile game expectation ranking on China’s largest gaming site ‘17173’, we will do our best in localization efforts."

Following the news of Black Desert's license issuance, the gaming industry also offered positive forecasts. Kwon Young-sik, CEO of Netmarble, stated, "This is positive and welcome news for the Korean gaming industry," and added, "We are thinking that we need to prepare more quickly for the Chinese market with expectations."

However, some criticize this as China testing the waters. Professor Wi Jeong-hyun of Chung-Ang University, president of the Korea Game Society, pointed out, "Currently, China is giving out licenses little by little as a strategy to gauge the Korean government's stance," and said, "In other words, China's strategy is to pull Korea into the US-Japan-South Korea alliance, and the game license is China's bait for this."

In fact, China has maintained the Hanhanryeong (Korean Wave restriction order) policy in response to the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. Since March 2017, China has issued only three game licenses for Korean games. Previously, domestic indie game 'Rooms: The Unsolvable Puzzle' and Com2uS's 'Summoners War: Sky Arena' were among the few to receive licenses.

While Korean games struggle to enter the Chinese market, Chinese game companies are thriving in the Korean game market. According to Mobile Index by data analytics firm IGAWorks, Chinese games accounted for 35% (7 titles) of the top 20 domestic mobile game revenue rankings in the third week of June. Chinese game company 4399's 'Miracle Sword' ranked 5th, Lilith Games' 'Rise of Kingdoms' ranked 8th, and Kuka Games' 'Three Kingdoms Strategy Edition' ranked 9th, occupying high positions.

An industry insider said, "Since the license was issued just a few months after Summoners War, we still cannot discern the Chinese government's pattern," adding, "Due to the continued uncertainty about the Chinese market, many game companies are also turning their attention to other countries such as Southeast Asia."

Editor's Note The goal of 'Game Dictionary' is to understand and clearly convey game-related issues every weekend. We always listen to incidents and various voices arising in games. Any tips are always welcome.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.