U.S. tech giant Apple removed around 58,000 Chinese apps from the company’s official app store between June 10 and 21, 33.5 percent of which were gaming apps.

According to Thepaper.cn, ASO 100, a Beijing-based data analysis platform, detected the anomaly in the Chinese version of the Apple app store in the past two weeks. On June 15, 22,000 apps were removed, a number that is six to 10 times greater than Apple’s daily removal quota. ASO 100 suggested that such a large-scale removal means Apple is cleaning up and regulating the Chinese app market on its iOS system.

Users and experts expressed their discontent, noting that the mass removal of apps might be a counterattack by Apple on its Chinese counterpart Tencent; Tencent owns WeChat, whose cash rewards feature was blocked on the iOS platform in April. Apple had made no comment on the incident as of press time.

According to ASO 100, Apple’s move didn’t intentionally target the Chinese app's tip service, nor was it trying to single out the special loophole that helps developers bypass Apple’s vetting process when deploying patches and updates to users’ devices. Instead, the overhaul was reportedly intended to merely get rid of bad-quality apps, as well as those that violated regulations.

ASO 100 pointed out that Apple routinely removes a selection of apps every two or three months, so it's not advisable to read too much into this incident.