China opens door to Korean game, issues 1st license in 4 years

China has granted a license to a game made by a South Korean company for the first time in nearly four years, finally lifting an implicit ban on Korean games that has persisted since 2017.

According to Korean mobile game developer Com2us, Summoners War: Lost Centuria has been given a foreign game service license from China‘s National Press and Publication Administration, the first such license issued since March 2017.

In 2017, Korea deployed the US anti-missile Terminal High Altitude Defense System despite China’s vehement opposition. Since then, China has blocked the entry of Korean games into its market as part of wider apparent economic retaliation, according to industry sources.

Released in 2014, the Summoners War series is Com2us’ global hit mobile game that generates 80 percent of profits in overseas markets -- 55 percent in Europe and North America and 25 percent in Asia and other regions. The approval is expected to boost Summoners War’s performance in Asia, as China’s mobile game market is as much as six times bigger than Korea’s, according to Hyundai Motor Securities analyst Kim Hyun-yong.

However, some experts warn caution.

“This is a highly calculated move from China. Due to concerns that (US President-elect Joe) Biden’s presidency will boost the Korea-US alliance, China is giving signals that it might lift the ban on Korean games and watching how Korea reacts,” said Wi Jung-hyun, a professor of business administration at Chung-Ang University and head of the Korea Game Society.

Com2us aims to launch Summoners War: Lost Centuria in the first quarter next year.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)