China’s government recently established the “Online Game Ethics Committee,” consisting of experts from universities, professional institutions, and media.

The committee investigated 20 games, and indicated that 11 of those games needed to be “ethically improved,” while nine other games would not be receiving approval in the country.

The government has not announced the name of those 20 games, but both Tencent and a source close to publisher Perfect World claim that their games are not included in that list.

On Dec. 7, the Chinese government established the Online Game Ethics Committee. According to China’s government-run news site CCTV, the committee is a part of the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. It consists of experts who study online gaming and youth issues from universities, professional institutions, and the media, according to the government.

According to CCTV, the Online Game Ethics Committee investigated 20 online games in the country, and highlighted 11 titles that need to be improved by relevant game publishers, in order to avoid “ethical risks.” Another nine games will not be receiving game access number approval in the Chinese market.These game access numbers are assigned by the government to games that are approved for play in China.

Early reports from media outlets, which claimed that the Chinese government had banned several esports games including PUBG and Fortnite , were incorrect. The Chinese government has still not announced the name of those 20 games. According to Thepapper, a Chinese media site, Tencent has said that “those 20 investigated games have no relationship with Tencent.” A source close to Chinese publisher Perfect World also told The Esports Observer that “no Perfect World products are included in those games.”

Tencent operates several esports titles in China including League of Legends , PUBG Mobile, FIFA Online 4, and CrossFire . Perfect World operates Dota 2 , Counter-Strike: Global Offensive , and Valve’s Steam digital distribution platform (called Steam China) in the region. NetEase operates all of Blizzard’s games in the region.

At present, many questions remain, including what the standard rules for the Online Game Ethics Committee are, and who the committee’s members are. In March 2018, the Chinese government froze all game access number approvals, amid concerns of the effects on young childrens’ health. In particular, there were strong concerns about how the use of electronic devices might damage children’s eyesight.

Back in October 2017, Tencent Games instituted a facial recognition and playtime restriction system for young children. Children under the age of 12 can only play one hour per day, and children between the ages of 12-18 can play for two hours.This system was first used on Tencent’s top mobile game, Honor of Kings. In October of this year the system was applied to all Tencent games.

Despite its tough attitude on regulating games in the country, the Chinese government has shown strong support for esports. Last month, Shanghai’s government held a signing ceremony for Steam China, and released guidelines for its new esports athlete registration and management program. The Chinese city of Hangzhou opened its “esports town” complex spanning 3.94M square feed, and costs $280M USD to build. Weng Huitie, the vice mayor of Shanghai , announced The International 2019 Dota 2 tournament will be officially hosted in the city, and the government will fully support the event. In addition, the Chinese government organized national teams to compete in the 2018 Jakarta Palembang Asia Games esports demonstration event.