China is aiming on setting a new restriction on online gaming for children. The government is apparently aiming to set a three-hour gaming limit per week for kids under the age of 18 in the region.
According to new regulations published by China’s National Press and Publication Administration (Via CNBC), the government is seeking to further crackdown on online gaming of China’s youth. The news arrives as the latest blow to the country’s local gaming industry and its known players like Tencent and NetEase, which have been facing a number of strict regulations like anti-monopoly charges and data protection as well. Furthermore, the new rules have also caused uncertainty with the investors, with the Chinese gaming firms seeing a hit in their stock values.
As per the new regulations, individuals under the age of 18 in the country will only be allowed to play online video games one hour a day, between 8 pm and 9 pm on weekends and other legal holidays. The agency cited children’s physical and mental health safety as the reason behind these new rules. Notably, these regulations will also apply to companies that are providing online gaming services to said minors, requiring them to restrict their services to users from outside these designated hours.
Additionally, the companies will also not be allowed to provide services to users who haven’t logged in with real name registrations. This is a major impact on the local gaming industry and is the second severe blow as 2019’s rules had barred kids under 18 to play video games for more than one and a half hours a day. Niko Partners senior analyst Daniel Ahmad stated that “There are over 110 million minors that play video games in China today, and we expect the new limits to lead to a decline in the number of players and a reduction in the amount of time and money spent in game by those under 18.”
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