(Yicai) July 8 -- Shanghai has granted games developed by foreign enterprises in the city the same treatment as those from local firms.

The new measure is part of a pilot policy for the software and information service industry that was implemented on July 1, the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government announced yesterday.

China issued new game licenses on a monthly basis, with domestic ones accounting for the vast majority. The country’s publishing watchdog issued 757 permits for Chinese games and 55 for imported ones in the first half of this year. The figures were 1,306 and 110, respectively, last year.

As the new measure took effect, the license approval process of games made by the Shanghai branches of overseas gaming firms will go through the domestic game channel, so the number of high-quality foreign games entering the Chinese market is expected to increase, a gaming industry insider told Yicai.

The license application process for foreign games developed in Shanghai will be simplified overall with the support of the new measure, which will help accelerate their entry into the domestic market, Zhang Shule, a game industry analyst, told Yicai.

The achievements made by Shanghai’s four major gaming companies -- MiHoYo, Lilith Games, Hypergryph, and Paper Games -- have proven that the city has gathered a large number of high-quality talents and created a market environment in line with global standards, a manager from a foreign gaming firm told Yicai.

These two factors made it obvious that doing business in Shanghai has become very attractive for gaming enterprises with an international perspective, both Chinese and foreign, the manager added.

The new measure is also expected to accelerate the trend of foreign gaming firms developing 3A titles in Shanghai, independently or with Chinese partners, as well as help promote domestic gaming companies to increase their investment in the research and development of high-quality titles, Zhang noted.

The sales revenue of online games developed in Shanghai rose 13 percent to CNY144.5 billion (USD20.1 billion) in 2023 from the previous year, accounting for about one-third of China’s total, according to a report by the China New Game Research Center.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione