Yicai Global) March 24 -- China has been approving video game licenses every month since last November, so the big players such as Tencent Holdings and NetEase will have to shift focus to product competition, according to an industry insider.

The issuance of licenses is no longer a significant roadblock for game developers, as China’s media regulator yesterday issued the fifth batch of permits in five months, the person noted.

The National Press and Publication Administration granted permits to 86 domestic games from publishers including Tencent, NetEase, 37 Interactive Entertainment Network, and other smaller developers such as Paper Games. It was the third batch of game licenses this year.

“It’s relatively clear that China will issue permits for domestic games once a month, with industry expectations relatively high,” a professional in the industry told Yicai Global. “This means about 1,000 games will enter the market each year, which will benefit the healthy development of the gaming industry.”

Shanghai Mupupil Technology, an affiliate of Moonton Games, a ByteDance-backed game publisher that focuses on overseas markets, also received a gaming license yesterday, indicating that it may enter the Chinese market in the future.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione