China released new guidelines on Tuesday governing the use of video games by minors. In particular, minors will not be able to play online video games from 10pm to 8am; on weekdays they can play a maximum of 90 minutes and on weekends and holidays a maximum of three hours per day. Those between the ages of 8 and 16 will be able to spend up to 200 yuan (about 26 euros) per month on video games, those between 16 and 18 up to 400 yuan (about 51 euros) per month. They will also need to register for video games with their real name and provide other personal data, such as a WeChat account or phone number. The government has also recommended that companies design non-addictive video games.
The Chinese government is trying to contain the addiction of young people to video games, which it has considered a worrying problem for years. Already in 2018, it had published guidelines that limited the number of online games and the time to play and developed a restrictive system based on age. China is the second largest video game market in the world after the United States.
