China’s minors face new limits on mobile games in war on gaming addiction

New anti-addiction guidelines for minors that set out limits for time and money spent on mobile games have been introduced by China’s state censor, following previous calls to curb excessive gaming.

State media published the new rules on Tuesday, which introduced a stricter real-name registration system and, for the first time, an age rating system. The State Administration of Press and Publications (SAPP) guidelines also include limiting gaming to between 8am and 10pm, with no more than 1.5 hours each day – or three hours on holidays – and no more than 400 yuan (US$57) to be spent each month on in-game purchases.

Gaming analyst Daniel Ahmad said the new rules were in line with expectations as many of the limits already existed in computer games and were being extended to mobile titles. He expected the real-name registration and rating system to have the greatest impact on underage players.

“The introduction of a stricter real-name registration and age rating system is certainly new and will have a larger impact given that these systems will be harder for minors to hack or cheat,” said Ahmad, who works for gaming consultancy Niko Partners.

Minors make up around 20 per cent of China’s internet users and a smaller percentage of online game players, according to Ahmad. After gaming companies such as Tencent introduced anti-addiction systems in 2018 following government criticism, the worst fears about new regulations had subsided, he said.

SAPP said it was working with the Ministry of Public Security to build a central personal identification system for the gaming industry so companies could verify the identities and ages of users. Companies found to have broken the rules will face a range of penalties, including losing their games publishing licences in the most severe cases.