Roblox cleared for launch in China
Hugely popular kids game is one of 42 approvals, alongside four Switch games
Roblox is officially heading to China, having gained two licences from the nation's regulators.
The Chinese version of the widely played children's game will be published by Tencent on mobile and PC, reports South China Morning Post. No release date has been given yet.
Tencent and Roblox announced last year they were working together on a joint venture company that is creating an educational version of the latter's flagship title.
The joint venture will be working with schools and educators, using the game -- which focuses on user-generated content -- to help teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills.
The ultimate goal is to launch the original version in China at a later date.
News of the game's approval for release in China follows Roblox's filing for an IPO in the US. It aims to raise $1 billion and is expected to be listed some time this month.
The educational version of Roblox was one of 42 approvals made by China's regulators, which is still working through a backlog after freezing approvals in 2018 ahead of restructuring its processes.
Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad shared the full list of approved titles, which includes Candy Crush Friends Saga, Kerbal Space Program, Summoners War, and both Elder Scrolls mobile games -- streamlined RPG Blades and trading card game Legends.
There are also four more Switch games heading to China: Yoshi's Crafted World, Mario Tennis Aces, Just Dance and To The Moon. The quartet accounts for four of the five console titles included in the current batch of approvals.
The Nintendo Switch launched in China a year ago through a partnership between Nintendo and Tencent.