I've heard this but can't really search for verification. Supposedly this law forces all Chinese videogames to be set in fantasy settings. Nothing in the real world.
If this law exists I argue it should be removed. It's holding their industry back from making any culturally relevant content because nothing can be set in our world, about real lives, people or places. You'll never get a Death Stranding or Metal Gear out of China while it exists. They should untether their industry so it can produce more of cultural relevance.
Can anyone verify?
I mean, Three Kingdoms is a real setting (though heavily mythologized) and there's tons of stuff based around that. I also just found this which is a realistic military shooter made by the People's Liberation Army: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glorious_Mission
Looks cool and we should play it some time.
EDIT: Also found one called Chinese Expeditionary Force which is a strategy game that takes place during WWII. There's also a huge number of games made in China that cover ancient China, which shouldn't be surprising given China's long and rich history. Unless there's some solid evidence in favor, I'd consider this law debunked.
America's Army but fuckin based
Is Wuxia type content potentially exempted? Unofficially perhaps, as fantasy / established longterm fiction genre?
Is there literally anything modern? Any strategy games? Easy genre to make. Where's Chinese rts? Chinese Civ? Chinese grand strat? Etc etc. It's all missing or at least I can't find any of it.
Ok so that's an official government project so we can't rule at that it would get exemption?
The one I mentioned in my edit, Chinese Expeditionary Force, seems to fit the bill. The Invisible Guardian is another videos game set in WWII. My Time at Portia is a post-apocalyptic game but supposedly includes quite a bit from contemporary China. Nine Trials is another that supposed has fantasy elements but has quite a bit that comes from modern day China. I don’t know much about any of these but I was able to find them pretty quickly. I also can’t find anything on a specific law that covers modern settings/events, though I’d imagine they would be more restrictive on certain sensitive topics. Developers themselves probably self-censor quite a bit, but this isn’t unique to China. For example, it would be rare to see video games about directly about slavery/racism, red scare paranoia, etc. in the US.
This comment has some good points: https://hexbear.net/comment/5280349
For another real setting (though heavily mythologized), I just checked to see if there was a video game based on Legend of the Condor Heroes . . . and there will be! Coming soon! I've never played an MMORPG but I absolutely would for this world.
https://wuxiasociety.com/upcoming-legend-of-the-condor-heroes-game-from-netease/