Elden Ring: Game banned from streaming platforms in China

Elden Ring is one of the very best games of all time and From Software’s release continues to have real legs in the sales charts.

The game has been more than a critical darling since its release, hitting a 96 score on Metacritic, and remains the highest-selling game of the last month since its release.

That is hugely impressive, given that the likes of Gran Turismo 7, Horizon Forbidden West, and WWE 2K22 have all released over the past two months as well.

Nevertheless, it now appears that the game’s popularity could be about to tank in China, with ScreenRant reporting that Elden Ring has been banned from streaming platforms in the country.

The Chinese government has long been very strict on regulations pertaining to video games.

The distribution of any games that are not licenced explicitly by the government is illegal and there are a number of reasons why any specific game may be the subject of a ban.

Particularly violent games are an easy target, of course, while there is also an aversion to games that have plotlines promoting any kind of anti-social behaviour.

The rules are extended to streaming platforms, meaning that streamers are asked not to platform games that have not been licenced by the government.

That now includes Elden Ring, a game that, per the report, had previously been averaging over 17 million daily viewers in the country.

As ScreenRant reports, this could well change if From Software attempt to obtain a licence for the country, which would allow the game to be streamed on China’s social media platforms.

Those applications, though, can be rejected by the government and we’ve got to say that it feels unlikely that Elden Ring would be able to pick one up.

It is a game that relies heavily on combat, while