If the playing time of Chinese under 18 was already controlled, a new more restrictive measure will be applied: an initiative to protect the mental and physical health of adolescents.
It was the NAAP, the regulatory authority for video games and other forms of online media, which decreed the new rules.
From their establishment (the date of which is unknown today), young people under the age of 18 will only be able to play online games on Friday, Saturday, Sunday between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. but every day of the week on vacation.
More restrictive measures than those put in place in 2019: they limit playing time to 90 minutes per day, three hours on vacation.
These new restrictions concern all media (including mobile) but only online gaming for the simple reason that it is easier to control the latter. The players must connect to it via an account, the latter having the information relating to the identity of the player, such as his age.
A measure put in place to keep the young population away from a “spiritual opium“, a vital mission according to the NAAP:”protecting the physical and mental health of minors is part of the vital interests of the people, and is linked to the maturation of a young population in an era of national rejuvenation“.
While the measures may seem harsh for local publishers, this does not appear to be a problem for Tencent as discussed in the South China Morning Post : the Chinese multinational has expressed that it will put in place the prerequisites for these new rules very quickly, while the latest financial statements of the company indicate that the under 16 represent 2.6% of their gross revenue in their games.
Finally, studios like miHoyo and Tencent seem to be moving more and more internationally as with the possible recruitment of Toshihiro Nagoshi by NetEase.