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Over 2,500 games removed from Apple's China App Store after loophole shuts

WION Web Team
Beijing, ChinaUpdated: Jul 15, 2020, 09:29 AM IST
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Photograph:(Reuters)

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This happened after Apple closed a loophole to comply with Chinese licence requirements. Apple had given publishers of revenue-generating games a deadline of end-June to submit a government-issued licence number that allows them to make in-app purchases.

More than 2,500 mobile games were removed from Apple's China app store in the first week of July, four times as many in the same period in June. 

This happened after Apple closed a loophole to comply with Chinese licence requirements. Apple had given publishers of revenue-generating games a deadline of end-June to submit a government-issued licence number that allows them to make in-app purchases.

Notable games removed from China's App Store in July so far include Supercell's farming hit "Hay Day", "Nonstop Chuck Norris" from Flaregames and "Solitaire" from Zynga, according to SensorTower.

The games removed in the first seven days of July had generated a combined $34.7 million in lifetime gross revenue in China, and had accumulated more than 133 million downloads in the country.

China has tightened its control over the world's largest video-game market in recent years and online games seeking to monetise often face a lengthy approval process to obtain a licence.

In February, video game "Plague Inc", which surged in popularity amid the coronavirus outbreak, was removed from Apple's China app store after regulators said it contained illegal content. The game did not have a proper licence and analysts say it was unlikely to get one.

(with inputs from Reuters)