Apple Removes 39,000 Games From China App Store

Apple on Thursday removed nearly 39,000 apps from its Chinese App Store due to the apps lacking an official license from local regulators, reports Reuters.

appstore
The report, which cites data from research firm Qimai, says that games affected by the cull included Ubisoft title Assassin's Creed Identity and NBA 2K20. According to Qimai, only 74 of the top 1,500 paid games on the China App Store survived the purge.

In addition to the 39,000 games, the report says Apple also removed more than 46,000 apps in total from its store.

Apple in February gave app developers an initial June 30 deadline to prove they had a license for their games, and later extended the deadline to December 31. However, in July the company froze updates for thousands of iOS mobile games lacking an official license, and in August removed 30,000 apps for similar reasons.

Apple in July reportedly warned developers of app removals, should their apps not meet regulatory requirements. The removal of apps lacking official licenses is said to come from increasing government pressure on Apple to comply with local regulations that have been in place since 2016.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday April 15, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update. Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key...
top stories 2025 04 19

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, CarPlay Bug Fix, and More

Saturday April 19, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
This week saw rumor updates on the iPhone 17 Pro and next-generation Vision Pro, while a minor iOS 18.4.1 update delivered not just security fixes but also a fix for some CarPlay issues. We also looked ahead at what else is in Apple's pipeline for the rest of 2025 and even the 20th-anniversary iPhone coming in 2027, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more! iPhone 17 ...
Apple TV Plus Feature 2 Magenta and Blue

Apple TV+ Available at Significantly Lower Price Until Next Week

Friday April 18, 2025 11:42 am PDT by
Apple TV+ is currently available at a much lower price than usual, but time is running out if you want to take advantage of the offer. In the U.S., new and qualified returning customers can subscribe to Apple TV+ for just $2.99 per month, for three months. Afterwards, regular pricing of $9.99 per month applies. The offer is available in the Apple TV app, and at tv.apple.com, through April...

Top Rated Comments

goobot Avatar
56 months ago
Kinda makes a tiktok ban understandable.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spyguy10709 Avatar
56 months ago
I've never seen a better argument in favor of forcing Apple to allow apps from "unknown sources" to run on paying customers devices then this.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4jasontv Avatar
56 months ago
Interesting spin. I prefer the headline ‘Most iOS Developers don’t bother with acquiring Chinese license’.

Apple’s hand was forced by the local government and the developers who have the autonomy to act on their own. So, either the developers are standing up against China, are lazy, or their game was essentially abandonware at launch.

Edit: I am confused by the downvotes that don't reply.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
goobot Avatar
56 months ago

I’m totally curious on the comparison here, this is what totally came to mind... “wow these guys do TikTok like bans but by the tens of thousands in there”.

Is it comparable? Are these game bans as harsh or as weird as the tiktok ban on the US? Read some comments about “licenses”, what are these licenses? Are they corruption free, transparent and accessible to anyone?

Because the numbers/quantity are staggering.

What, that’s banned in China now too?
When a country is banning your software just to give their own an edge, why let them not only release theirs in our market but then let it pull lots data from people which it can then use however it wants without any potential consequence.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nikaru Avatar
56 months ago
One day we would end us with so much dump regulations that you wont be able to do anything without Government license aka approval. And it is not just China...Silicon Valley suffers from this as well.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spyguy10709 Avatar
56 months ago

Their oppression state will then block these sources as well I’m afraid.
I mean, kind of hard to ban files from existence. Trust me, Metallica tried.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)