China approves 129 domestic online games in March, a new monthly high since 2023

Last Friday, China’s National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) released the latest batch of domestic online game licenses for March. A total of 129 licenses were issued, marking a new single-month high since 2023. In the first three months of 2025, 362 domestic and 21 imported game licenses have been approved. Key domestic games approved in March include Tencent’s Sword Snow Stride, NetEase’s Shanhai Odyssey, Seasun Games’ Jianxia World 4: Infinite, and 37 Interactive Entertainment’s King’s Origin. Sword Snow Stride is an open-world massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the wuxia novel of the same name, while Shanhai Odyssey is a simulation management game set in a fantasy world of supernatural powers. [NPPA, in Chinese]