China’s Tencent wins first game licence in 18 months

China’s gaming regulator approves 70 new titles after earlier nine-month freeze on releases. China has granted tech giant Tencent its first licence for a video game in 18 months, ending a dry spell that had threatened its position as the world’s top game maker. Beijing moved against the country’s vibrant gaming sector last year as part of a sprawling crackdown on big tech companies, including a cap on the amount of time children and teenagers could spend playing games. China’s gaming regulator, the National Press and Publication Administration, on Thursday said it had approved 70 new titles in November, including Tencent’s action game “Metal Slug: Awakening” and a role-playing game “Journey to the West: Return” by rival NetEase. During the tech crackdown, hundreds of game makers pledged to scrub “politically harmful” content from their products and enforce curbs on underage players in a bid to comply with government demands.