Apple has frozen updates to thousands of mobile games in its China App Store, as new rules that have been brewing for nearly half a year officially landed.
According to Apple's rules, starting in July, all new games without a license will be unable to pass Apple's review and be added to the China App Store.
For unlicensed games on the in the store before July, they will have a six-month buffer period.
Back in February, Apple had reminded developers that they needed to provide approval documents by June 30 for any paid games planned for release or games that were available for in-app purchase programs in its China App Store.
Apple cracks down on games without license in Chinese App Store
Apple said today that if developers fail to provide approval documents, they will not be able to update their games.
According to data analytics firm Sensor Tower, iOS games in China generate a whopping $11.8 billion in revenue in 2019, up 14.9% year over year.
However, while the App Store is profitable for thousands of mobile titles, a large percentage of them are unlicensed.
