It was recently announced that Chinese regulators are once again enforcing a ‘game time limit’ across the country as the winter school holiday period approaches. The period, set to run between January 15 and February 14, will see millions of children out of school for a well-deserved break – but their gaming time has been slashed by the government.
It has been confirmed that both Tencent and NetEase, two of the largest gaming corporations on the planet, ‘have signalled their adherence’ to the regulations. In the month-long holiday period, youngsters will be permitted to play just 16 hours of video games.
Setting the Terms
In a report published by the South China Morning Post (and uncovered by Malaysia’s publication, The Star), the strict regulations were detailed in full, including what publishers are doing to restrict access to games.
Tencent has agreed on a scheme that will see children (anyone aged under 18) permitted just 15 hours of play between January 13 and February 13. NetEase, the gaming giant behind the recent Marvel Rivals release, will allow 16 hours in the same window.
The regulators have stressed that one hour per day will be allowed on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. This was a concept first set up in 2021, with the Chinese government expressing concerns that young people were spending too much time neck-deep in video games.
When the rules were put in place, more than 200 gaming companies pledged to adhere to the regulations.
This might come as a surprise given that China is one of the biggest consumers of games and the wider gaming industry in the world. Last year, the nation released Black Myth: Wukong, one of the most successful games in years and a rampant performer.
In a scary quote taken from The Star’s report, it was written:
Tencent said that it has tightened its detection measures to better detect and punish transgressors during the upcoming holiday.
It has also created a ‘risky account database’ which flags adult accounts that may be borrowed by children, requiring facial recognition to verify users.
It’s worth stressing that anyone over the age of 18 is free to play as many games as they want.
Do you think this is a stranglehold regulation, or should more countries follow in China’s footsteps? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming forum.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Dynasty Warriors 10 was cancelled
This is a good thing. Too many children are losing themselves in video games and have absolutely zero aspirations to do anything or be anything else.
Sure, kids are spending too much playing video games and staring at screens. But the government forcing screen limits is most definitely not a good thing. Total screen time should be the sole responsibility of the parents. This i just blatant government over-reach.
That’s the parents job, raise your damn kids. It’s insane that people would rather have government over reach than just take responsibility and have an ounce of accountability. Truly pathetic.
Good on them, although i agree that it should be the parents job to limit it. The ones saying government over reach apparently never seen how CHINA’S government works to begin with lmao.