Apple removes 39,000 game apps from China store to meet deadline

Apple removed 39,000 game apps from its China store Thursday -- the biggest removal ever in a single day.

It had set year-end as deadline for all game publishers to obtain a licence.

The takedowns come amid a crackdown on unlicensed games by Chinese authorities.

Including this number, Apple has so far removed more than 46,000 apps in total from its store. These games include Ubisoft title Assassin's Creed Identity and NBA 2K20, according to research firm Qimai.

Only 74 of the top 1,500 paid games on Apple store survived the purge.

Apple initially gave game publishers an end-of-June deadline to submit a government-issued licence number enabling users to make in-app purchases in the world's biggest games market.

Apple later extended the deadline to December 31.