Release a game in China's App Store

Question

Created Mar ’19

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Hi everyone!
I'm an indie developer and planning to release my first game. I'm pretty much interested in China market also and was curious if I have to get a license and find a chinese publisher just to release my app via Apple's app store?

I was researching regarding this problem and saw the topics on the forums that license is nessesary. But also I found the articles from the chinese magazines and companies that do a research on gaming market, and there was an info that the license and chinese publisher both have the place to be if you post somewhere outside the Apple's app store only.

So I'm a bit lost now what to do. If someone can give me a reply if I can just publish my game via Apple's app store, would be great. Thanks in advance!

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Answer 1

KMT OP

Mar ’19

I won't repeat what you've already read except to confirm that getting a game into Apple's China store requires a significant committment in both time and money, with no promise of success in all cases.

>and there was an info that the license and chinese publisher both have the place to be if you post somewhere outside the Apple's app store only.

Can you rephrase that, thanks.

>give me a reply if I can just publish my game via Apple's app store

Remember that not all apps can be published in all stores...games are the best example of this.

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Answer 2

tkuhns OP

Jul ’20

You can publish your iOS game to Apple App Store China simply by checking the China region.

Officially speaking, you need both a Software Copyright Certificate (SCC) and game license issued by the Chinese government to publish a game in Mainland China. In practice (to date), you can skip the SCC prompt, and a game license is not necessary unless your game is paid or has in-app purchases. Ad-monetized games and free games are (so far) allowed to publish without this license approval number

If your game requires a game license, you MUST enlist the help of an agency or get a Chinese partner to help you publish it. Non-Chinese people and entities are UNABLE to get a game license in China. It takes 6-12 months to get a game license in China. The process is fairly lengthy and detailed, and includes a content review with a list of restrictions (for example, your game can't contain any blood, corpses, zombies, vampires, or skeletons).

But because the Chinese market is so massive, it can be worth it if your game is already popular. There is much money to be made in Mainland China.

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