It is Zhang Yuchen’s last summer break before high school, but events have taken an unwelcome turn — the 14-year-old’s game time has been decimated as China’s tech firms try to dispel accusations that they are selling “spiritual opium” to the country’s youth.
An edict by gaming giant Tencent means that players aged 12 or younger can no longer make in-game purchases in multiplayer battle smash-hit Honor of Kings, while those aged 18 or younger are locked out after two hours during holidays and one hour on school nights.
“I wanted to cry,” Zhang said as the news ricocheted across the world’s largest gaming market, which soaked up US$20 billion in the first half of this year alone.
Photo: AFP
The changes — incontestable and imposed far too quickly for the liking of Zhang and his peer group — have come as Beijing scours the tech scene for signs of any firm growing too big, owning too much data or having too great a hold over China’s people.
Gaming appears to be the latest target for regulators who have already strafed mega-apps providing ride-hailing, personal finance and online learning, as the Chinese Communist Party refines the type of capitalism it wants for society.
Minors complain that the measures are too sweeping, affecting even teenagers who have finished their university entrance exams and just want to relax.
“I’m on vacation now and have nothing to do, but I can only play for a short while,” a 17-year-old student surnamed Li said.
“It’s quite upsetting,” she added, noting that older teens have more self-control and should not be forcibly stopped from playing.
She gets automatically locked out after hitting the two-hour holiday limit.
However, there are loopholes, Li added, as playing an hour on different games could still lead to teens gaming for the same hours as before.
Others have circumvented the policy altogether, by borrowing an adult’s account or using their parents’ mobile phones.
“By borrowing an account now, I can play two to three hours a day and of course, game after 10pm,” said another 17-year-old student on condition of anonymity.
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