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China to import 44 foreign video games
CGTN
Packages of Pokemon: Lets Go Pikachu and Pokemon: Lets Go Eevee are displayed at a Pokemon Co. unveiling news conference in Tokyo, Japan, on May 30, 2018. /CFP
Packages of Pokemon: Lets Go Pikachu and Pokemon: Lets Go Eevee are displayed at a Pokemon Co. unveiling news conference in Tokyo, Japan, on May 30, 2018. /CFP

Packages of Pokemon: Lets Go Pikachu and Pokemon: Lets Go Eevee are displayed at a Pokemon Co. unveiling news conference in Tokyo, Japan, on May 30, 2018. /CFP

China's video games regulator granted publishing licences to 44 foreign games for release in the country, including seven South Korean games, further lifting rigid curbs that had lasted 18 months.

Among the imported online games approved by the National Press and Publication Administration are five to be published by Tencent Holdings, including "Pokémon Unite" by Nintendo and "Valorant" by Riot Games, according to a list the regulator released.

The regulator also approved 84 domestic games for the month of December, according to a separate list released on Wednesday.

Regulators resumed issuing game licenses to homegrown games in April since the game approval process was suspended last August, and the approval of foreign games was seen as the last regulatory curb to be removed.

Among the approved games, the largest imported game is "Pokémon Unite" jointly developed by Nintendo and Tencent. The game was first released on the Nintendo Switch last July. According to Tencent, by the end of December last year, the game had been downloaded more than 50 million times.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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