The middleman behind the game version number

After a lapse of 263 days, the game version number was resumed.

On the evening of April 11, 2022, the official website of the State Press and Publication Administration announced the list of the first batch of editions issued in April, and 45 domestic games were approved. "Finally there is a version number, and I cry with joy." Heartbeat Network (02400. HK) CEO Huang Yimeng wrote on social platforms and said in response to questions from netizens, "Eat dumplings tonight." ”

The game version number, equivalent to the game's ID card. Without the version number, the game cannot be officially launched and profitable. In 2016, the General Office of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television issued a notice saying, "Unapproved mobile games shall not be published and operated online." ”

Huang Lei joined the publishing house in this year, responsible for docking game companies and engaging in game version number applications. He recalled to the Southern Weekend reporter that before 2016, the game was launched only for simple filing; now if there is no version number, the game can only be trial operation, can not open the game store and recharge and other services, commercial realization, "what do you do without making money online?" ”

According to the Research Report of Guojin Securities, the approved version number in 2016 was 3790, and in 2017, it was 9368. Huang Lei explained that after six years of practice, the success rate of applying for a version number in these two years was the highest, "more than 70%". In the following years, the number of approved editions declined rapidly, from 2064 in 2018 to only 679 by 2021.

Public information shows that due to institutional reform in 2018, the distribution of game version numbers was suspended for 265 days. This round of 263 days did not issue a version number, and there is no clear explanation. According to Huang Lei's recollection, in addition to the above two periods, "generally several rounds of version numbers will be issued every month."

A number of game industry insiders analyzed to southern weekend reporters that the reduction in the number of version numbers issued was related to the increase in the regulatory authorities' requirements for game quality.

Version numbers became a scarce commodity, and companies that handled game versions quietly rose up. They appear in the headlines of Tieba and QQ groups and search engines, acting as intermediaries between game companies and publishing houses, earning the difference in price, and more illegal business of the company to start version number transactions.

Acting as an intermediary for a small game company

"The RPG (Role Playing Class) version application fee is about 30,000 yuan, paid in one lump sum, and we are responsible for submitting and contacting the publisher to provide revision suggestions." A staff member of a company that provides agency services for game versions told Southern Weekend reporters.

A game industry veteran introduced to the Southern Weekend reporter that the application for a game version number requires holding an online publishing service license, and most of the companies that handle the version number do not have this qualification, or they still have to find a publishing house as an export. According to the official website of the State Press and Publication Administration, as of April 26, 2022, there were 933 online publishing service units across the country.

Huang Lei's publishing house is one of them. He introduced to the Southern Weekend reporter that the cost of simple games such as elimination and flight is generally less than 30,000, and other conventional games are about 30,000-50,000, "mainly the labor cost of the team."

According to Huang Lei, the publishing house does not pick up all the games, but according to the current scoring system, the editors of the publishing house will pre-score from the originality, game quality, game orientation, cultural content, and completion degree, the full score is five points, the average score reaches three points before receiving, but the overall project that actually reaches three points is less than 20%, "the homogenization is serious, the gameplay is similar, and the art quality is rough."

However, the game version number agency does not care about the quality of the game, the above-mentioned company staff said that as long as the money is given, it will submit and provide modification opinions, "if not, it is that the opinions given by the publisher's editor are not in place."

"If there are no three-pointers in the pre-score, it means that the passing line has not been reached, and there is no need to change it later." Huang Lei explained that the provincial and national audit institutions also refer to the five-point system for scoring, and three points is the basis for submitting the version number application, "the higher the score, the greater the probability of passing."

Since there is a publishing house, why does the game company not directly look for the publishing house, but instead go to the agency company?

"Publishers don't advertise, and game versions run agencies advertise a lot." Huang Lei analyzed that the editor of the publishing house did not have a commission, and the salesman of the game version number agency company pulled a single and may have a commission.

For game version agencies, their customers are more concentrated in small and medium-sized game companies. According to the official website of the State Press and Publication Administration, Tencent, NetEase and other companies have online publishing qualifications, do not need to go through intermediaries or publishing houses, and can directly submit version number applications to provincial-level units.

Zhang Yang works in a leading Internet company, responsible for the game version number application business, he introduced to the Southern Weekend reporter, large companies will have a department similar to the middle office responsible for the application, the company's legal affairs and game project team temporarily combined, "the company will hope to accumulate version number application experience, and then go more and more smoothly." ”

Zhang Yang further explained that the publishing house is responsible for reviewing the materials, but there are agency companies that will provide one-stop services such as application material writing, game optimization, application submission, etc. Small companies will definitely choose a more efficient way, "I throw this thing out, I don't need to build it myself, someone can help me do a good job." ”

What is the use of the version number agency?

Unlike publishers, the fees charged by game number agencies are not fixed.

There are more than 100 cases involving game version numbers on the Judgment Document Network. Among them, because of the entrustment of a third-party company to handle the unsuccessful case of the game version, there were five cases, and the amount involved ranged from 80,000 yuan to 230,000 yuan.

The contract content covers services such as writing, sorting, submitting, and optimizing the application materials for the game version number. The payment methods are different, and some contracts stipulate that a certain fee is charged step by step, and a certain fee is charged after one step is completed; and the content of the contract involved in the case shows that if the version number fails to pass the review, the full fee must be refunded.

Huang Lei introduced to the Southern Weekend reporter that in the game companies he contacted, many of them had found an intermediary to handle the game version number and were deceived, the game version number was not done, and the money could not be returned, "There was a customer who was looking for an agent before, and the other party promised that 600,000 yuan had been guaranteed, and he paid half of the money as a deposit." Later, the client went to the publisher he contacted, and the publisher told him 'no application received'."

Gang Qiang once served in the competent department, responsible for reviewing the game version number business. In his view, it is more appropriate to submit a version number application through the publishing house, "the publishing house is like a supplier, and the institution responsible for the review of the game version number has a similar service evaluation mechanism, which will promote the publishing house to submit more good works." ”

In the usual work, Huang Lei did not deal with the intermediary, the intermediary handed over the game application, to meet the standard, they will also be responsible for acceptance, but the process of communication is not pleasant, "mainly the information transmission is not accurate, such as the normative problems of the data, and the game version of the agency to communicate, they may convey incorrectly, will lead to repeated modification of the game." ”

After the game version number is revised at the publishing house, it will be sent to the provincial and national publishing departments for review. Gang Qiang introduced to the Southern Weekend reporter that the provincial and national two-tier audit agencies, generally each floor will have two experts to play and evaluate the game, if there is a modification opinion, it will be given to the publishing house, and then handed over.

A staff member of the game version number agency company introduced to the Southern Weekend reporter, "A few years ago, find some relationships, simple games, the fastest week can be done." ”

"The game has been reviewed, and the role of the intermediary in it is not necessarily very big." Gang Qiang explained, "Companies with game version numbers claim to be familiar with experts and can pass with high scores. But in fact, it is difficult for a third-party company to know which two experts are reviewing a game. In addition, experts will not deliberately give the game a high score in violation of the rules, or let a game cut in line to pass expedited. ”

After submitting the application, the game company and the publisher know which level of publishing institution it has been reviewed. "But how long it takes to review and how long it takes to queue up is unknown to the applicant." Zhang Yang said.

In addition, Gang Qiang explained to the Southern Weekend reporter that experts from the national publishing review agency passed a game, and there was still a period of time until the final version of the game landed. But he said it was not clear which games would eventually get the version number and when.

The extension of the approval time for the game version number has increased the operational pressure of the game company. A staff member of a head Internet company in charge of the game business introduced to the Southern Weekend reporter that about 4-5 games have been sent for review for more than half a year, and they have not been able to get the version number, "At the end of 2021, there was a game that temporarily pulled the team to do publicity, and the team disbanded."

Some small and medium-sized game companies have fallen on the road to applying for a version number. "There are game companies that have submitted version number applications, and before they can come down, the company has gone out of business." Huang Lei recalled, "There are also small companies, and when the application is half done, the team is disbanded. ”

Game version number underground trading

As an alternative business, many game version number agency companies are desperate to take risks, and have also started version number transactions and licensing business, which is commonly known as "set version number".

For example, Company A has a version of a Fairy Tale game, but has no intention of continuing to operate. Company B has a fairy game that needs to be launched urgently, but it has not been able to get the version number for a long time. The intermediary company will match two companies to authorize the version number, and the xianxia game of company B will be listed on the major application stores through the qualification and version number certificate of company A.

"The other party issued a power of attorney authorizing us to operate for one, two years or for a long time." A person in charge of the game version number agency company introduced to the Southern Weekend reporter, "The version number of the xianxia game is about 500,000 a year." There are also game version number agency staff requirements, "authorization for at least three years."

Zhu Junchao, a Yihua Law Firm in Cambridge, Jiangsu Province, has represented a number of litigation cases arising from the transaction of game versions. He introduced to the Southern Weekend reporter that since 2019, there will be relevant cases every year, such as Company A will trade the version number to Company B in the form of a contract, but the final version number is invalid because of complaints or other reasons, and Company B will ask for the money to be returned, "but in the end the court will rule that the contract is invalid."

Zhu Junchao further explained that the game version number, like the ISBN, cannot be traded because its qualification is for a specific product. It is illegal to trade the version number of one game, which is equivalent to appearing on another game, but the regulator does not actually review the other game.

Gang Qiang explained to the Southern Weekend reporter that the regulator mainly checks the channels, that is, the major app stores, and the general penalties are to block, remove the game, and fine. In addition, reports are investigated.

(At the request of the interviewees, Huang Lei, Zhang Yang, and Gang Qiang were pseudonyms.) ）

Southern Weekend reporter Wu Chao