Skip to main content

China’s 13-year ban on video games and console sales set to end

chinas 13 year ban on video games and console sales set to end call of duty online
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In what amounts to a landmark moment for the global landscape for video games, China has officially approved a plan to end the country’s 13-year ban on the sale of video game consoles, The Hollywood Reporter confirms. The policy change is laid out in a document that sets up the rules for a free-trade zone in Shanghai. Companies will be able to peddle their products to Chinese consumers so long as they set up joint venture operations in the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone and receive approval from the country’s Ministry of Culture. 

The ban on video game consoles went into effect in 2000 as a government response to public outcry from parents, who claimed that such forms of entertainment would rot their kids’ brains. Ultimately, the move simply redirected what amounted to an intense interest in gaming among Chinese consumers to the realms of PC and mobile, as well as to the so-called “grey market,” where import hardware and software continued to be available.

Recommended Videos

The lifting of the ban means that companies like Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony will now be able to actively market their products to China’s population of 1.35 billion people. Such a large consumer base could significantly alter the types of games that we see coming to market. Why would Microsoft make a game specifically for the 316 million people in the United States when there’s a billion-plus in China with an entirely different set of tastes? It’s an impossible situation to predict, but you can fairly speculate that the opening of this massive new market is going to ripple outward into the games industry in unexpected ways.

While the console ban also introduced an unavoidable de facto ban on console games, the fact that content creators will still need approval from China’s Ministry of Culture means that certain types of games will still need to be altered or simply not sold. Bans are frequently placed on otherwise legally available PC games in China because of their content; sex, drugs, excessive amounts of blood, organized crime, and anything that defames the country or its government are simply not allowed, and that attitude doesn’t seem likely to change if the Ministry of Culture still has content oversight.

The end of China’s game console ban first came up as a possibility earlier in 2013. A source within the Ministry of Culture told local news outlet China Daily that the decade-old policy was under review, though its age coupled with the fact that the ban was issued by seven government ministries meant that a long approval process lay ahead. 

Topics
Adam Rosenberg
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…
All upcoming Xbox Series X games: 2024, 2025, and beyond
Emmerich Voss holds an artifact in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

The Xbox Series X and Series S have now been out for over four years, bringing better resolution, higher frame rates, and ray tracing to gamers around the world. And the best upcoming video games continue to show off all those bells and whistles in fun, new experiences.

If you're eager to find out what Microsoft has in store for the years ahead, we've rounded up every game confirmed so far, including new offerings, franchise installments, and ports of existing titles. We're looking beyond the first-party projects here to encompass all the great games coming to this powerful piece of gaming hardware. Maybe some of them will end up being among the best games on Xbox Series X.
Upcoming Xbox Series X games 2024
The games listed below either have 100% confirmed release dates or solid release windows that we expect them to hit in 2024. Any games with more ambiguous release windows will be listed below the confirmed releases.

Read more
All upcoming PC games: 2024, 2025, and beyond
Team up abilities in Marvel Rivals

While the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X might dominate the gaming news spotlight, the PC continues to be one of the best gaming platforms out there. This year has seen a variety of high-profile releases already, and there's still more to come. Most upcoming video games are going to find their way to PC. If you're searching for your next big PC game (or want to see what's on the horizon before investing in a new rig), here are the best upcoming PC games set to arrive in 2024 and beyond.
Upcoming PC games 2024
Confirmed 2024 releases
Here’s everything that’s on our radar for 2024. The games immediately below have set release dates. We'll get into anything that's more up in the air below the confirmed launches.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

Read more
Best video game deals: PlayStation 5, Xbox S and X, Nintendo Switch

Gaming on a console can sometimes be a lot easier and more straightforward than on a PC, but one thing that you may miss out on is the big deals that aren't as frequent on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or Nintendo Switch. That doesn't mean that you can't find any deals, of course, and there are actually quite a few great ones that you can take advantage of across pretty much all platforms. That's why we've gone out and collected our favorite PS5 games, best Xbox Series X games, or best Nintendo Switch games to save you the hassle, so be sure to check out all the options below.
On the other hand, if you're just doing a bit of window shopping, then check out some of our other favorite PS5 game deals, Xbox game pass deals and Nintendo Switch deals for more specific offers.

Best PS5 game deals
Deathloop -- $25 $60 58% off

Read more