Recently, China had to clamp down on video gaming as the country was faced with a monumental rise in cases of gaming addiction especially among teenagers in the country with an estimated 24 million kids affected. The government also blames the country’s widespread myopia on the playing of video games. As a result, several measures were taken to stem the tide. The measures seem to have worked as the Chinese government is now reportedly planning to recognize video gaming as an official profession.

This is the latest in a series of moves aimed at reigniting the country’s gaming sector following a nine-month freeze on game approvals. China’s Occupation Skill Testing Authority (OSTA) made this disclosure on January 25 when it released a list of new job titles. The job titles cover a variety of fields, from artificial intelligence (AI) to internet of things (IoT). Also, Cloud computing engineers, big data analysts, and professional gamers are also included as job titles. The list was apparently created as an internal evaluation and will be open for input from the public until January 31.

Read Also: Tencent deploys facial recognition to detect underage gamers amidst China’s gaming addiction crisis

This is coming on soon after the government commenced approval of new video games again just December last year after its nine-month embargo. At present, China’s broadcasting regulator has issued four batches of video game licenses in the past month, totalling nearly 260 gaming titles. According to China’s Occupation Skill Testing Authority (OSTA), prospective professional gamers, also known as e-sports players, will participate in gaming competitions, work as training partners, provide data analysis for the industry, and design new games. Another included job title is professional gaming operator, which will involve marketing new and existing game titles.

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