Source: Finance Association
① The third batch of imported game versions was released during the year, and 40 new games were approved. A total of 98 imported game versions were released this year, exceeding the level of the past three years. ② Opinions on the new online game regulations severely hurt game stocks today. Industry insiders say the impact cannot be accurately assessed yet, and many listed companies have responded.
The cold of the winter solstice hit the game industry first, and the “emergency release” of imported game versions brought another glimmer of warmth.
Today, the State Press and Publication Administration updated the approval information for imported online games in 2023, and 40 new games were approved. This includes 1 mobile/client game, 2 client/console games, 4 client-side games, 3 console games, and the remaining 30 mobile games.
Listed companies involved include:$Tencent (TCEHY.US)$“U.S. Basketball All-Stars”,$Perfect World (002624.SZ)$“One Punch Man: World”, “Installation Simulator”, “Dinosaur Park”,$XD INC (02400.HK)$“Floating Island Adventure”, “Advance into the Dungeon”,$Bilibili (BILI.US)$/$BILIBILI-W (09626.HK)$“Blazing Sky”,$G-bits Network Technology (603444.SH)$Its thunder game “Candlelight Dungeon 2”,$Kingnet Network (002517.SZ)$“Things About Me Being Reincarnated as a Slime: New World”,$Oriental Pearl Group (600637.SH)$“Desperate Land West of the Horizon”,$Shenzhen Zqgame (300052.SZ)$“Monster Train”, “The Da Vinci Chamber of Secrets 2”, etc. are on the list.
Up to now, three batches of 98 imported game versions have been released this year, surpassing the level of the past three years. From 2020 to 2022, the State Press and Publication Administration issued 97, 76, and 44 imported game versions respectively.
The industry generally regards the distribution of imported game versions as an important sign that the industry's prosperity is picking up and policy expectations are improving. The game sector also generally has positive feedback after the release of the version. However, today's situation is a bit different. In the afternoon, a notice from the State Administration of Press and Publication on the “Measures for the Administration of Online Games (Draft for Comments)” (hereinafter referred to as “Opinions on New Online Gaming Regulations”) triggered an “earthquake” in the distribution industry.
In the afternoon, game stocks collectively “dived”. At one point, the Hong Kong stock market NetEase fell by more than 27%, and Tencent fell by more than 13%. Bilibili,$ARCHOSAUR GAMES (09990.HK)$, Xindong, etc. fell by more than 10%. A-shares have not been spared either. By the close,$37 Interactive Entertainment Network Technology Group (002555.SZ)$, Perfect World, Gigabit, Kaiying Network,$Hubei Century Network Technology Inc. (300494.SZ)$,$Giant Network Group (002558.SZ)$After the “total decline” of more than 20 listed companies, they were severely hit.
A number of game practitioners told reporters that at present, the new online game regulations are still at the stage of soliciting comments, and it is impossible to accurately assess the extent of their impact on the industry and related enterprises. There are also quite a few practitioners who lament to the reporter that “the news came so suddenly,” were “caught off guard,” and were even a bit “taken off guard.”
Among the opinions on the new online game regulations, the one that has received the most attention is that online games must not set inductive rewards such as daily login, initial recharge, or continuous recharge. Regarding this. The DataEye Research Institute believes that these paid designs are mainly aimed at small to medium R players. The impact on some products with lower ARPU (such as leisure) is significant. Some games rely on a large number of “monthly card players” or first-time players, Krypton players, to survive.
Maximum game payment limits, and virtual goods auctions. The DataEye Research Institute believes that these paid designs are mainly aimed at big R players, and have a great impact on some games with mature game systems and economic systems (such as MMOs). “The streaming ceiling for these games is expected to decline.”
“Actually, the impact of this draft on the industry is not the restriction on paid design itself (paid design can be reset and explored anew, and the impact on game products themselves is short-term). The real impact of the draft is the further tightening of regulatory trends and the impact on industry expectations of practitioners and investors. That impact has been amplified.” The DataEye Research Institute said.
Another market analyst said that the new online game regulations encourage and reward quality games and original games, and encourage games to go overseas and explore overseas markets.
Listed companies have already responded to this.$Fuchun Technology (300299.SZ)$Today, it was stated on the interactive platform that the implementation of the new online game regulations will have little impact on the company's existing game products. Overseas revenue accounted for 88.59% of the company's game revenue in 2022.$Beijing Ultrapower Software (300002.SZ)$The side also told the reporter that opinions on the new online game regulations have had relatively little impact on the company. The company's game business is mainly overseas, and games already accounted for more than 85% of overseas revenue in 2022.
After opinions on the new online game regulations “suffered a severe setback” in the gaming sector, listed companies quickly “made up classes” and began research and learning models.
Kaiying Network told reporters that opinions on the new online game regulations are being publicly solicited, and currently there is no substantial impact on the company's operations. The company will carefully study, research and actively follow up on feedback. It is believed that the game industry will achieve high-quality development on a more standardized basis and contribute to the country's economic development. Shenzhou Taiyue also said that since the draft for comments has just come out, the company still needs to thoroughly study and understand, and will also actively participate in discussions on relevant opinions.
As of press release, the reporter went to the website for comments published by the State Administration of Press and Publication, but the relevant documents have not yet been consulted.
Editor/jayden