For 13 years, China has officially banned the sale of online game consoles in its country. Now, a brand new Chinese economic plan reveals that the ban may soon come to an end – but with a catch.

The South China Morning Post today reported that a policy blueprint for a “Shanghai free trade zone” would allow for the sale of online game consoles, so long as foreign hardware companies (inclusive of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft) manufacture the consoles throughout the new free trade zone. The plan reportedly has the backing of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who’s looking to open China to more foreign business investments.

Console manufacturers will need the approval of the Chinese culture ministry to sell their products, meaning strict content censorship (stricter than Australia, even) is normally implemented. The key reason cited for the unique ban was the violence and political content seen in mainstream games.

The end of China’s official console ban could dead an enormous blow to the big black market that has sprung up inside the country around games. China is definitely-referred to as a primary consumer of pirated games and online game consoles. Though the report quotes a Sony official as saying the Japanese company would not yet have a plan for selling PlayStation consoles in China, the top of Microsoft’s Greater China region, Ralph Haupter, was quoted as saying that Microsoft is addressing legal barriers to an Xbox One launch in China.

(via South China Morning Post)