Gaming is one of the most profitable industries in China’s tech sector. It’s the cash cow powering the rise of Tencent, the multi-billion dollar firm behind WeChat. It's also an industry with some of the most notorious examples of copying, but also the most stringent rules -- which Chinese game developers and gamers tirelessly find creative workarounds for.

China is the largest gaming market in the world by revenue, raking in almost $40 billion last year, despite a 9-month licensing freeze that prevented game developers from monetizing new games. But as the Chinese government rolls out more rules to increase controls on an already tightly regulated market -- banning blood, mahjong games, and more -- what will happen to China's vibrant gaming community, and how will tighter content restrictions impact the country's game developers?

Topics covered in this episode:

• Publication numbers and censorship
• Copycat products and Chinese game quality
• Creative freedom and the future of gaming in China

Guests:

• Haohai and Li Motian, two hardcore gamers based in China
• Daniel Ahmad, senior analyst at market research and consultancy firm Niko Partners
• Wang Miaoyi, a Beijing-based independent game developer

Hosts: Eva Xiao & Tom Xiong

Producer: Jacob Loven

Music rights: Licensed by Epidemic Sound

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