App Store on iPadSource: iMore

What you need to know

  • Games sold in the Chinese App Store must be approved.
  • Apple has emailed developers asking for their approval number.
  • It didn't say what would happen if they didn't.

Developers who sell games – or offer games with in-app purchases – in China must provide Apple with proof that the Chinese government has approved them. That's after Apple started emailing developers to request their "approval number".

2016 regulation means that games must be approved by the General Administration of Press and Publication of China, with the outfit checking for things like profanity and violence. If a game fails its checks, it can't be offered up. And now it appears that Apple is beginning to enforce that according to reports by AppInChina and Cult of Mac.

Chinese law requires games to secure an approval number from the General Administration of Press and Publication of China. Accordingly, please provide this number to us by June 30, 2020 for any paid games or games offering in-app purchases that you intend to distribute in China mainland. You can enter your game's approval number and date below. To learn more, view the full text of the regulation. If you have questions, contact us.

Apple doesn't say what will happen if developers don't comply, although it's likely the games will be removed from the Chinese App Store in order to comply with local laws.

Attention is already very much on Apple and its relationship with China. But it has little choice in this instance, with Chinese laws being exactly that. Laws.