China issues 80 new game licenses, Tencent not included

China announced that it approved 80 new game releases in late December, signaling the first wave of media authorized by the The Online Games Ethics Committee.

However, the list of approved titles does not seem to include any releases from Chinese tech giant Tencent. 

This report comes a few weeks after Chinese regulators began reviewing games submitted under license consideration in China, moving forward to end the licensing freeze that had halted game approvals for the majority of 2018.

As reported by Reuters, the approved titles, listed on the website of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, did not include games from industry leader Tencent.

The freeze has negatively impacted the company, and despite mobile revenue on the rise, the company has lost more than $200 billion of its overall value.

Tencent began testing facial recognition to verify player identities and even restrict playtime in an attempt to appease the Online Games Ethics Committee, which was created to address concerns from Chinese officials who fear that video games are sparking addiction and impacting the productivity of the country's youth.

Regulators have also prevented Tencent from monetizing popular games that were already on the market in China, including Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.