According to data from research firm Qimai, Apple on Saturday pulled 29,800 apps from the company’s App Store in China, including more than 26,000 games. The takedowns come amid a crackdown on unlicensed games by
China Communist Party authorities.
Earlier this year Apple gave game publishers an end-of-June deadline to submit a government-issued licence number enabling users to make in-app purchases.
China’s Android app stores have long complied with those regulations. It is not clear why Apple is enforcing them strictly this year.
The smartphone maker removed more than 2,500 titles from its app store over the first week of July. Games affected by the sweep included titles from Zynga and Supercell, research firm SensorTower reported at the time.
The Chinese government has long sought to enforce stricter regulations on its gaming industry to remove sensitive content.
MacDailyNews Take: Former U.S. President Richard Nixon, who opened relations with China in the early 1970’s, just before his death in 1994: We may have created a Frankenstein.