Tencent Holdings, China’s largest gaming company and social networks by revenue, said it will limit playing time for some younger users of “Honour of Kings.” The reason for this are reportedly claims that some children are addicted to popular mobile game.
Parents and teachers complain that children are becoming addicted to online game involving battles. The company says it has more than 200 million users, making it the most popular game of its kind in the world.
Users under 12 years of age will be restricted to play only one hour a day, while those between 12 and 18 years of age can play two hours a day, warns Tencent.
Furthermore, the company plans to ban users under 12 years old to enter the game after 21 p.m. It also holds plan for future restrictions about how much money you can spend the kids in the game, added the company.
“There are no rules to curb addiction to online games in China, but we decided to be the first to try to dispel the concerns of parents, limiting play time and forced the children to come out of the game,” said Tencent in its official account WeChat.
Tencent, which has a portfolio of over 200 games, will also improve parental control platform – option, released earlier this year. It allows parents to monitor the activities of their children in their account in the game. It is also planned introduction of a requirement for registration with the actual name of the user that will apply to everybody.
Fantastic role-playing game based on the historic Chinese characters, generated 5.5 billion yuan (810.47 million dollars) in revenue in the first quarter. Revenues from mobile games in China rose by 4.5 billion yuan to 27.5 billion yuan during the period. This is their biggest growth in two years.
Tencent, which refuses to disclose details of the revenue from games, grossed 12.9 billion yuan from mobile games in the first quarter, according to its financial statements.
China is the largest gaming market by revenue in the world and expects it represent 25% of global sales of games for 2017, according to research firm NewZoo.
