China’s National Press and Publication Administration has informed the state-run news agency, Xinhua, of strict new regulations when it comes to online gamers under the age of 18.
In line with these new regulations, play will only be allowed for an hour on Fridays, weekends, and holidays.
China’s video regulator has instructed gaming companies to prevent children from playing outside of these times and inspections of online gaming companies will now increase to check that the time limits are being enforced.
According to the BBC the move is indicative of a long-running concern about the impact of excessive gaming on the young. Just over a month ago, Chinese gaming giant Tencent announced it was rolling out facial recognition to stop children from playing between 22:00 and 08:00. This was in response to fears that children were using adult IDs to gain access to gaming during these hours.
