gaming
Bulletins

China imposes severe 3-hour per week gaming restriction on minors

It may not have that large of an effect on Tencent and other big gaming firms, which make most of their money from adults.

A player competes in the mobile battle royale title Free Fire on an Android smartphone.

Mobile free-to-play games are the most popular type of gaming in China, and they've caught the attention of regulators.

Photo: Nasir Kachroo/NurPhoto via Getty Images

China has instituted a new restriction on video games aimed at curbing what the government sees as a rising gaming addiction problem among the youth of the country. The new rule will allow minors to play video games for only one hour each on Fridays, weekend days and on holidays, according to a report from Bloomberg.

The new rules, which were announced on Monday, represent Beijing's latest efforts to rein in the gaming sector over concerns such software is affecting Chinese children's schoolwork and familial responsibilities. Earlier this month, a state-affiliated news outlet cited Tencent's mobile hit Honor of Kings in an article that called gaming "spiritual opium" that threatens to "destroy a generation." Although the drug reference was later removed online, the article nonetheless sent stocks tumbling and Tencent and others began vowing to institute improved controls over minors' play time to appease regulators.

Many investors in Chinese gaming firms and members of the gaming industry are now preparing for a fresh set of restrictions on mobile gaming, which in China is far and away the largest market by revenue due to longstanding home console bans that were only lifted in recent years. There are an estimated 110 million mobile game players under the age of 16 in China, according to gaming analyst Daniel Ahmad with Niko Partners.

Tencent, however, says it is prepared to adjust its business and is not overly concerned, adding that less than 3% of its sales in China came from players under the age of 16 in its most recent quarter. Prior to the new rule, Tencent restricted minors to one hour of play per day, and it will have to now restrict that even further in addition to abiding by new requirements such as linking accounts to a state-run anti-addiction system and requiring players register with real names, Bloomberg reported.

"Since 2017, Tencent has explored and applied various new technologies and functions for the protection of minors," the company told Bloomberg in a statement. "That will continue, as Tencent strictly abides by and actively implements the latest requirements from Chinese authorities."

Nick Statt

Nick Statt is Protocol's video game reporter. Prior to joining Protocol, he was news editor at The Verge covering the gaming industry, mobile apps and antitrust out of San Francisco, in addition to managing coverage of Silicon Valley tech giants and startups. He now resides in Rochester, New York, home of the garbage plate and, completely coincidentally, the World Video Game Hall of Fame. He can be reached at nstatt@protocol.com.

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