How to get a Chinese approval number for your game.
If you are a game developer looking to bring your game to China you will need to get an approval code. Here’s what the Chinese guidelines have to say:
Review and Approval of Publishing Online Games by Overseas Copyright Holders
Basis
The decision of the State Council on Establishing Administrative Licensing for Administrative Examination and Approval Projects That Must Be Retained (State Council Decree №412) Annex №328: Review and Approval of Publishing Online Publications (including Online Games) Authorized by Overseas Copyright Owners.
Prerequisites
1. The business scope of the publishing unit must include online game publication.
2.The online game authorised by the overseas copyright owner in this application has fulfilled the copyright contract registration procedures at the National Copyright Administration.
3. The game operating entity must have the “Telecom and Information Service Business License” (ICP certificate);
4. The online game must comply with the Publishing Regulations, Online Information Service Management Measures, Network Publishing Service Management Regulations and other laws and regulations.
5. The game operating entity must comply with the relevant national regulations on the protection of the minors and other regulations on game operating activities.
Quantitative restrictions
Meet the requirements regarding total amount, structure and layout.
Application procedure
The entity applying must first submit the materials for review and approval to the local provincial publication administration department. After approval, the provincial department will submit the application to the State Press and Publication Administration for review and approval.
Approval timeframe
80 working days from the date of application acceptance.
List of materials to be submitted
1. Documents to be submitted by the local provincial publication administration department;
1. The primary recipient should be the State Press and Publication Administration, there should be a header, a document number and complete sets of official seals;
2. The main body of the text should specify the name of the game, the game category (computer, mobile, console, or other), publishing entity, operating entity, and the relevant declarations, for example, if it is a console game, the type of the game console should be stated in the document.
3. The name of the game should be simple, clear and can give a high-level overview of what the game is about; in principle, only simplified Chinese characters are allowed, the name should not be the same as another approved game, the name should not violate the provisions of article 25 and article 26 of the Publishing Regulations or contain vulgar, obscene, kitschy or other content that violates the core socialist values;
4. Each game should have their own set of documents. The application should be submitted in A4 with two copies, no need to bound into a book.
2. Application form for publishing online games authorised by overseas copyright owners;
1. This application form is applicable for declaring various types of imported online games;
2. In this form, the “publishing professionals” refer to the publishing personnel who are engaged in the game content review in the publishing entity and have the professional qualifications of junior level, medium level and above;
3. The “Overseas operating status of this game” should include: the earliest launch time and location of the game, the current territories, number of players overseas, revenue and player sentiment etc;
4. The “operating status” refers to the specifics of the operating entity that is operating this game, the brief should include: The length of service of the business, the time of earliest game operating activity, an overview of the games in operations and other relevant details;
5. The “publishing professionals” refer to the publishing personnel who are engaged in the game content review in the publishing entity and have the professional qualifications of junior level, medium level and above;
6. The “review report” of the publishing entity must include: an accurate introduction to the content of the game, the time of review, the issued spotted, the revision process and the final opinion of the review.
7. The application form must be signed by the person in charge of the review and the chief personnel of the publishing entity with the official seal of the publishing entity (both professionals must meet the professional qualification requirement and provide professional qualifications on the first submission).
3. Contract registration approval from the national copyright administration (photocopy);
1. The title of the reply should be the publisher, the content should include the name of the game, the name of the overseas copyright owner, and the contents the declaration. The special seal for copyright registration of the National Copyright Administration should be affixed;
2. If the name of the overseas copyright owner is not specified, the copyright contract registration form or the copy of the licensing contract of the overseas copyright owner should be submitted;
3. For the non-overseas IP licensing games, independently developed by domestic foreign-funded companies (including Hongkong, Macao and Taiwan), the copyright certification and the copy of the licensing contract with the official seal of the copyright owner should be provided; for the overseas IP licensing games, the approval of the copyright contract registration of the National Copyright Administration is still required.
4. Business License and ICP certificate of business entity (photocopy)
A copy with the official seal of the operating entity. If the operating entity and the copyright owner are not the same, a copy of the operating contract signed between the operating agency and the copyright owner shall be submitted, and the official seal of the copyright owner should be affixed.
5. Screenshots of the game;
The screenshots must be clear and the number of the screenshots must be no less than 10. The screenshots must be able to reflect the content and basic features of the game, including at least one screenshot of the main interface with the name of the game.
6. Instructions of the anti-addiction system in games;
1. In accordance to the requirement of the Notice on Preventing Minors from Over-Indulging in Online Games, the screenshots must be able to illustrate the settings of the real-name registration system, time duration control system, payment system and the tourist mode;
2. Provide an authentic and effective guarantee for content that cannot be effectively reviewed before the game is launched, including real-name registration system, payment system and duration control during bank holidays;
3. Review process and conclusion regarding the anti-addiction system by the provincial publishing management department and the publishing entity.
7. Full text of the Chinese scripts in the game.
1. This include but is not limited to system prompts, NPC dialogues, mission plot descriptions and name of the game props;
2. Only the electronic version of the text is required.
8. Administrator accounts for content review and test accounts for testing the anti-addiction system in the game;
1. The administrative accounts for content review must be an adult account and include 3 high, medium, low and blank accounts. The high, medium and low accounts must include the game resources and in-game currencies sufficient for review purpose;
2. The test accounts for anti-addiction system review need to have two groups, each with a high, medium and low level which include the game resources and in-game currencies sufficient for review purpose;
9. Supporting materials;
1. client games must submit three copies of the client CD or U disk;
2. Web games must provide the game login URL;
3. Mobile games must provide a CD or USB flash drive with three copies of installation package or the download URL of the installation package;
4. Online download or stand-alone games must provide a download URL and specify the game installation environment and conditions;
5. If the game needs to be run on a gaming machine or other special review equipment, two copies of the special review equipment for the installed game must be provided (the review equipment will be returned to the reporting entity after the game is approved);
6. The client can be installed, the test or download URL can be opened, the game can be run, the account can be used normally, and the declared game version must be completely consistent with the publishing version.
10. CD-ROM or U-disk containing electronic documents and game demonstration videos of all declared text materials.
1. Three copies of the client CD or U disk;
2. The name of the game and the words “electronic documentation”, “demo video”, and “installation package” should be marked on the CD or the U-disk and the application materials should be arranged in order;
3. The duration of the demo video should be no less than 10 minutes. The video should display healthy game advice, the game title, the main interface of the game, the anti-addiction system, all character images, all accessible scenes, and all systems that can be experienced. If there is a combat system, the actual combat effect in the game must be displayed, and the duration of this display should not be less than 2 minutes.
