Chinese firm Tencent Holdings, one of the largest video game companies in the world by revenue, announced that it will limit playtime for young users of Honor of Kings, the world's top-grossing mobile game with 200 million players.
Responding to public outcry from parents and teachers, who warn of serious addiction issues among young people, the firm will limit users below 12 years of age to one hour of playtime per day. For players aged between 12 and 18 years, the limit will be two hours a day. The company will also ban users under 12 years from logging in after 9 p.m. Additionally, it plans to impose spending limits for younger users of the game. The firm did not specify whether these limits will apply only in China or the rest of the world too.
Tencent, which is also the developer of social media platform WeChat, stated on its official account: “There are no rules to prevent indulgence in mobile games in China, but we decided to be the first to try to dispel parental worries by limiting play time and forcing children to log off.” In addition, the company said that it will require real-name information when users sign up for the game, and for those who refuse to provide it, their account will be treated as below-12.
According to Chinese gaming industry database CNG, Honor of Kings generated revenue worth more than $810 million in the first quarter, nearly half of Tencent’s total smartphone games revenue of $1.9 billion.
Source: Reuters | Image via Reuters/Stringer
4 Comments - Add comment