Tencent Holdings is the owner of the largest gaming company in terms of revenue and they also own the largest social media platform in China. The company which has been dominating the video game industry for quite some time has drawn up a calendar according to which young video gamers are only allowed to play one hour each day starting from January 17 to February 15. These 14 days include the weekends and the Lunar New Year holiday for 2022, according to the latest regulations by the Chinese government, which is trying to prevent youngsters from getting addicted to games.
Impact of these regulations on the Chinese game industry
According to the new guidelines introduced last August by the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), China’s regulatory body for gaming and other forms of online media states that gamers aged under 18 are restricted to playing between 8 pm and 9 pm only on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and statutory holidays. This was one of the harshest measures introduced by the government to regulate online activities in the country.
Special regualtions are announced for Lunar New Year holiday 2022
The introduction of the 14-hour playtime reminder from Tencent became one of the most searched topics on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo. These new guidelines came to light when Tencent Games posted about this on its WeChat account.
During the time when you can’t play games, students can read more, exercise more and get close to nature. Play less games this winter vacation, and you will be the best at the start of school next year
Tencent Games on Weibo
It would be interesting to see how the gamers will react to this government crackdown. Some pundits fear that it can lead to a slowing down on the game industry’s growth in the country. As a matter of fact, in 2021 the industry earned the smallest revenue in the last three years.
The government policies in China regulate all aspects of a citizen’s life. It seems the online activities are also no exception. One can only hope that these measures don’t backfire in a country that boasts a gamer population of about 720 million.
What are your thoughts about the new regulations by the Chinese government for Lunar New Year 2022? Let us know in the comments below!
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