Apple to Enforce Game Approval Rules in China

On February 24, 2020, various unofficial sources indicated that commencing on June 30, 2020, Apple will require all games published on its China App Store to comply with the existing legal requirement to have a game approval issued by the State Administration of Press and Publication (国家新闻出版署) (“SAPP”). According to these articles, Apple’s decision to begin enforcing the existing game approval requirements was first discovered on Apple’s background review page. Based on the screenshot of this page, Apple will require the publisher in China of any pay for download game or game that offers in-app purchases to provide the game approval number issued by SAPP by June 30, 2020.