Apple's Chinese App Store removes 4,500 games in just 3 days

A change in government rules on licensing lead to Apple purging the App Store off 4.500 mobile games all of which have been frozen till the developers get official license.

According to reports, more than 3,000 games were removed from the China App Store in the first two days in July and Apple warned developers about this. (REUTERS)

Apple has removed more than 4,500 mobile games from the Chinese App Store in three days thanks to a change in licensing restrictions in China.

All app developers need to have an official license from Chinese regulators to put their games on the App Store. Till before this new licensing rule came in, developers were allowed to have their games live on the App Store while they waited for their license to be approved. The new rule indicates that developers will need to secure a license before submitting their apps.

Announced earlier this year, this new rule came into force on June 30 leading to Apple purging the App Store off all the developers' games and apps that have not gotten official license yet. Apple's initial response was to freeze updates to all these apps. Now, all these frozen games are being removed from the App Store.

According to reports, more than 3,000 games were removed from the China App Store in the first two days in July and Apple warned developers about this. The company had to take action once the rule came into force. This is being called one of the biggest game purges on Apple's App Store ever.

China only approves about 1,500 game licenses every year and the process itself takes about six months to a year to be completed. Thus many of these games that have been pulled off the App Store will have to wait for a long time before they can come back on.

Apple removed 1,571 apps on July 1, 1,805 on July 2, and 1276 on July 3. However, developers can avoid this by not updating their app. It is estimated that more than 20,000 apps could be affected in total as the purge is going to carry on.