Apple has always been characterized by having very strict guidelines that all developers they must follow if they want to offer their applications in the App Store, although sometimes they use tricks to mask their functions and bypass them until they are detected. If you are also a developer in China, there is one more filter that developers must overcome.
Developers offering games on the App Store must first obtain approval from the Chinese government, an approval they obtain in the form of a number, a number to send to Apple so that the Cupertino-based company can verify that it has really passed the controls of the country's government.
This government regulation, which was approved in 2016, only affects developers who want to offer your applications in mainland China. The one in charge of reviewing the applications that are intended to be available in the App Store is the General Administration of Press and Publications of China, an administration that checks both the level of violence of the application and the vocabulary used.
Despite being 4 years old, it has not been until now that the government has begun to enforce compliance. In the email that Apple has sent to the developer community, you can read:
Chinese law requires games to obtain an approval number from the General Administration of Press and Publications of China. Accordingly, please provide us with this number by June 30, 2020 for any paid games or games offering Chinese App Store purchases that you intend to distribute in mainland China.
In the same email, Apple does not report on the possible consequences for developers who do not comply with this new regulation, but it is most likely that your apps disappear from the Chinese App Store. Once again, Apple is forced to comply with local laws. As the Google Play Store is not available in China, this new law only affects the iOS ecosystem.
