Video game regulators in China said – online gamers under the age of 18 will be allowed just to play for one hour on Fridays, weekends and holidays.
They could play games between 8 pm to 9 pm as told by the National Press and Publication Administration to state-run news agency Xinhua
Moreover, it has also instructed gaming companies to avert children from playing outside during these times.
Earlier this month a state media outlet branded online games “spiritual opium”.
The regulator also mentioned the increase in inspections of online gaming companies to check that the time limits are being imposed.
Prior to this arrangement, the online gaming time for kids was limited to 90 minutes per day which rose to three hours on holidays.
This step was taken keeping in mind the long-term impact of excessive gaming on the young.
Before the latest restrictions, an article was published by the state-run Economic Information Daily that claimed teenagers to be addicted to the online gaming trend.
Thus, it was causing a negative impact on their health and lives.
The article provoked substantial falls in the value of shares in some of China’s biggest online gaming firms.
In July, the Chinese gaming company named Tencent, the gaming giant declared it was rolling out facial recognition to stop children playing between 22:00 and 08:00.
There was also fear that children were using adult ID’s to evade rules.
Beijing might be growing scepticism over the expansion of capital and technology, as well as its possibly hostile effect on the welfare of the country’s young generation.
The new rule came along with an extensive curb on China’s tech giants, such as Alibaba, Didi and Tencent.
It was also accompanied by a series of modifications over events considered by Beijing as harmful to the young generation, including celebrity fan culture and private tutoring.
By doing this, the Chinese government is hoping to create “positive energy” among the young minds and wishes to educate them with what Beijing considers “correct values”.
While many Chinese parents may applaud the gaming restriction, some on China’s social media Weibo criticise the government interference as being “unreasonable” and “arbitrary”.
“Why don’t you plan when I go to the toilet, eat meals and go to bed,” one sarcastic comment read.
