Ubisoft Entertainment has announced it "no longer operate its merchandise sales business in China" ©Getty Images

Ubisoft Entertainment has become the latest video game developer to close its official online store in China which has imposed tight regulations to solve gaming addictions.

The French publisher, which is behind action-adventure game franchise Assasin’s Creed, has announced that it "no longer operate its merchandise sales business in China" following a "strategic adjustment".

The decision means that Ubisoft’s store on e-commerce platform Tmall will cease sales from Wednesday (June 7), according to a report by the South China Morning Post.

"Following a review of our collectibles and merchandising products strategy in China, we have decided to stop our direct sales in the country," a spokesperson from Ubisoft China said.

"We will continue to launch products in collaboration with licensing partners, and these will be available on the sales channels of our partners."

The move to stop selling on Tmall in China has upset Chinese players who expressed their disappointment on social media.

"I feel very sad about the closure," said Fu Meng.

"If I want to buy Ubisoft merchandise in the future, especially the newly-released ones, it will be much more difficult."

Richard Pan added: "It came as a surprise to me as the store has been operating for quite some time."

China is looking to cut down the amount of time youngsters play on video games ©Getty Images
China is looking to cut down the amount of time youngsters play on video games ©Getty Images

Ubisoft’s decision to withdraw comes after American publisher Blizzard Entertainment opted in January to shut down its game services in China after its licensing agreement ended.

Epic Games, the American developer behind popular video game Fortnite, also pulled the plug in China in November 2021.

The withdrawals of such big companies come at a time when the Chinese Government is putting in steps to limit the amount of time youngsters spend gaming.

Chinese authorities have been looking to tackle addictions to video games due to concerns over the impact on children's physical and medal health.

The move has put the onus on gaming companies to put in place real-name-based registration system in a bid to identify underaged players and impose play-time restrictions.

Esports is set to feature as a medal event for the first time at the delayed Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, scheduled for September 23 to October 8.

Medals are set to be won in PUBG Mobile, Dota 2, League of Legends, Dream Three Kingdoms 2, FIFA, Street Fighter V, and Arena of Valor at the Games.