Apple To Require Revenue-Generating Mobile Games To Be Approved By Chinese Government

Apple appears to be attempting to bring its App Store in China in line with a 2016 Chinese regulation that states games published in the country must be approved by the General Administration of Press and Publication of China.

Today, Apple pushed the following notice out to developer accounts without fanfare or additional comment:

“Chinese law requires games to secure an approval number from the General Administration of Press and Publication of China. Accordingly, please provide this number to us by June 30, 2020 for any paid games or games offering in-app purchases that you intend to distribute in China mainland. You can enter your game’s approval number and date below. To learn more, view the full text of the regulation. If you have questions, contact us.”

There is no clear indication whether this applies to games that have already been published on the App Store and, if so, what will happen if they fail to meet the deadline. So far, calls to Apple have not been returned.

To date, Apple has been more lax about admitting apps onto the Chinese version of its app platform than the hundreds of Android app stores in the country. For example, although most Android app stores require a valid Software Copyright Certificate (SCC) for each app and game, Apple’s submission process asks for one but will still proceed if the field is left blank.

Apple’s iOS devices make up only about 20% of the otherwise Android-dominated mobile market in Mainland China, according to Statista.com.

For professional assistance publishing your mobile game or app to China’s Apple App Store and/or across its top 10 Android app stores, and for help getting an ISBN number to license your mobile game, contact AppInChina below.

-Todd Kuhns

(original government notice, English translation)