Under 18 forbidden to play video games in China

China has prohibited under-18s from playing video games for more than three hours a week, a strict social intrusion that it said was needed to pull the plug on an increasing dependence on video games.

The new rules are part of a major move by Beijing to reinforce control over its civilization and key sectors of its economy, including tech, education, and property, after years of roaring growth.

The recent limitations added by the government, which also apply to any devices including phones, are considered to be a major blow to a global gaming industry that provides to tens of millions of young players in the world’s most profitable market.

The limit has been stated as under-18s to playing for one hour a day 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on only Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, according to the Xinhua state news agency.

They can also play for an hour, at the same time, on public holidays.

The rules from the National Press and Publication Administration regulator overlap with a larger crackdown by Beijing in the inconsistency of China’s tech giants, such as Alibaba and Tencent Holdings.

“Teenagers are the future of our motherland,” Xinhua quoted an unnamed NPPA spokesperson as saying. “Protecting the physical and mental health of minors is related to the people’s vital interests and relates to the cultivation of the younger generation in the era of national rejuvenation.”

Gaming companies will be banned from providing services to juveniles in any form separate from the specified hours and must guarantee they have put real-name authentication systems in place, said the regulator, which supervises the country’s video games market.

Formerly, China had limited the length of time under-18s could play video games to 1.5 hours on any day and three hours on holidays under 2019 rules.