China has announced a new set of rules that will restrict minors from playing video games for long hours. The new rules won’t allow children below 18 to play video games for more than three hours a week.
The rules define three separate three-hour-long windows during which children will be allowed to play, with the Chinese government emphasizing the need to keep gaming addiction at bay. The new rules were announced by the Xinhua state news agency, reports Reuters.
China’s crackdown on gaming addiction
With new rules in place, kids below 18 are allowed to play video games from 8 to 9 PM on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays. Gaming won’t be allowed beyond these limits, which means no games during weekdays.
Previously, there were restrictions on gaming, but they were not as strict as the new rules. As per Reuters, previous restrictions limited playtime to 1.5 hours every day and three hours on holidays. Those rules came into being in 2019, and now after two years, we’re seeing more severe restrictions.
As per the report, some reactions to these rules on social media expressed shock at how restrictive they are and doubt that the rules will be enforced to great extents. Tencent, the biggest gaming publisher across the globe, is based in China and offers mobile and online multiplayer games. The company can see a dip in its gaming revenue after the new rules.
Will gaming companies follow rules?
The new rules by the Chinese government do not seem to differentiate between platforms, and it sounds like gaming firms will be responsible for setting time limits and anti-addiction systems. It remains to be seen what kind of measures the gaming developers take to align with the new rules.
However, Tencent developed a time-sensitive facial recognition system that doesn’t allow minors to play video games late at night. Dubbed “Midnight Patrol,” the system was launched amid a moral panic over gaming addiction in Chinese kids. Children below 18 won’t be allowed to play games between 10 PM and 8 AM and must register for games under their original names and government ID numbers.
