Citi: Mainland China approved 209 game licenses in September; Q3 cumulative total of 621 hits a new single-quarter high.

Citi released a research report stating that the National Press and Publication Administration announced the ninth batch of game licenses for 2026 on September 30, approving a total of 209, including 206 domestic and 3 imported. This was the second-largest batch this year and the second consecutive month exceeding 200, including TENCENT (00700)'s "Dream Cleanup Squad"; a cumulative total of 621 were approved in the third quarter, hitting a new single-quarter high since the resumption of regular approvals, higher than 463 in the same period last year, as well as 467 in the first quarter and 483 in the second quarter of this year. The bank noted that a cumulative total of 1,571 games were approved in the first nine months of this year, equivalent to 89% of last year's full-year total of 1,771. It reiterated its expectation of 1,900 to 2,100 licenses approved for the full year this year, and believes it is quite likely to meet the target and will exceed last year. The bank expects monthly approvals to remain above 200 in the remaining three months. Benefiting from high-quality content supply, evergreen games, and efficiency gains brought by artificial intelligence, the expansion of license supply helps support healthy industry fundamentals.