China approves 173 games licenses in August, highest monthly total of 2025

On Monday, the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) announced the August batch of game license approvals, covering 166 domestic online games and seven imported titles. This brought the monthly total to 173, the highest figure so far this year. Approved domestic releases include NetEase’s Tianxia: Wanxiang, 37 Interactive Entertainment’s Super Bull Heroes, and Bilibili’s Escape from Duckov. By August 2025, China had issued more than 1,119 game licenses, an increase of 193 from a year earlier. Analysts say the expansion in license supply will enrich the industry’s content ecosystem and drive both valuation recovery and earnings growth for game companies. [NPPA, in Chinese]