Apple Removes Unlicensed Games From China App Store
Apple is in the process of purging “thousands of video game apps” from the App Store, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. This comes as China cracks down on unlicensed games in the country, but the removals extend beyond the gaming category in some cases.
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The issue centers around a regulation in China that requires video games to be licensed before being released. App Store developers have actually been able to skirt this requirement for years. For instance, Apple would allow games into the App Store while they were awaiting their license, and it simply wouldn’t enforce the requirement in some cases.
Today’s report from The Wall Street Journal also adds that China has also demanded that Tripadvisor and over 100 other apps be removed from the App Store, without explanation[…]
As far as I can tell, the “unlicensed” games are not using content without permission from the copyright holder. It just means that they are, for whatever reason, not approved for sale by the government.
Of course, Apple needs to comply with government regulations for its App Store, but it’s choosing to prevent customers from installing apps from other sources.
Previously:
- Apple Removes RSS Feed Readers From Chinese App Store
- App Consoles
- Podcast Apps Removed From Chinese App Store
- Plague Inc. Removed From the China App Store
- HKmap Live Removed From the App Store
- App Store Takedown Demands by Governments
1 Comment RSS · Twitter
>for whatever reason, not approved for sale by the government.
Every game or even Internet website. Need a license in China. And normally the process is completely opaque. ( There will bound to be someone jumping out saying it is not true..... ) So what normally happens is they put those out before the license are obtained. Because of the way Mobile Gaming Works, most only survive for a few months. And they are killed before the license was even granted, assuming they bothered to apply for one in the first place.
