China Bans Livestreaming Of Unlicensed Video Games

The government of China has once again imposed a restriction on the consumption of games media, with players only being able to live-stream games that have a valid license. Additionally, live streaming overseas esports competitions are also restricted without a valid license – as detailed in a recent Reuters report.

The National Radio and Television Department issued these new restrictions as a part of the many measures the government has been taking to restrict all gaming content that’s consumed in the country.

“For a period of time, issues such as chaotic online live-streaming and teenage addiction to games have raised widespread concerns in society and effective measures need to be taken urgently,” the regulator said in a notice on its website.

Senior analyst researcher Daniel Ahmad of Niko Partners also talked about how Chinese streaming platforms such as the likes of Huya, DouYu, and Bilbili have been promoting the live-streaming of unlicensed games. FromSoftware’s latest release Elden Ring has particularly been a big hit, accumulating around 17.1 million daily viewers across all platforms in its first week of release.

This restriction comes shortly after thousands of Chinese studios shut their doors on account of not having a valid license – read more on that through here. The government also imposed certain restrictions on the consumption of video games by minors – read more on that through here.

Elden Ring was a hit on Chinese game live streaming platforms reaching 17.1m cumulative daily average viewers in its first week.

But it's not approved for sale there (People still find ways to buy it ofc).

If the below is fully enforced, Elden Ring couldn't be streamed at all. https://t.co/roKxkQwatI

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) April 15, 2022