15 hours: China says that’s the monthly limit for kids gaming

In China, children are subject to curfews set not by their parents, but by the state. Children are full of energy during the month-long school holidays in the Far East, but I imagine some children will be jumping up and down in anger.

15 hours of video games next month: measured as a cure for the disease the government intends to cure.

Tencent Holdings, the world’s largest video game company, announced that from January 13 to February 13, everyone under 18 will be allowed to play for up to 15 hours.

Meanwhile, NetEase, Tencent’s smaller rival, set a 16-hour limit from January 15 to February 14. These temporary restrictions are in line with the 2021 government guideline, which limits minors to one hour of play per day on Fridays, weekends and public holidays. , in an attempt to combat what they believe is a gambling addiction.

However, similar restrictions do not apply to other forms of online entertainment, such as short video platforms, reports South China Morning Post. Despite strict gaming restrictions, Chinese authorities have shown a softer approach in some areas, especially when video games are combined with cultural promotion. Publications such as Wukong’s Black Myth were seen as tools to showcase Chinese heritage. In 2023, the National Press and Publication Administration approved more than 1,400 video game titles, including 1,306 domestic games and 110 games from foreign publishers, the highest number of approvals since 2019.

China has been trying to combat video game addiction among minors for years. In 2019, the country banned online gaming for people under 18 from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. To ensure this, Tencent has introduced a system called “Midnight Patrol” in more than 60 of its China-focused smartphone games. Peculiarity used facial scanning to verify the age of players when you play after curfew.

Then, in 2021, China introduced further restrictionslimiting those under 18 years of age to only one hour of gameplay per day from 20:00 to 21:00 on weekends and holidays. This marked a sharp reduction in the 2019 rules, which allowed one hour of play on most days.