The Chinese government compared online games with poison and demanded that they take measures to prevent the spread of gambling addiction among minors of the PRC, Forbes reports.
The People’s Daily newspaper and the official Xinhua news agency recommended that game developers improve content and strengthen measures to combat gambling addiction.
Xinhua pointed to problems with Tencent’s game design, which, according to official media, distort the history of China, endowing historical figures with supernatural abilities.
“The “Honor of Kings” phenomenon reveals the pain points of our fast-growing but unregulated gaming industry. Government departments should not only help it grow, but also maintain order there,” Xinhua noted.
Recall that the first target of public criticism of the Chinese authorities was Tencent Corporation and its MOBA Honor of Kings, which is the most popular mobile game in the world with an audience of about 200 million people.
Government media compared the passion for the game with drug addiction. After these articles, Tencent lost $17.5 billion in market value and promised to limit playing time to underage gamers.
Forbes notes that in major cities of China, Honor of Kings has really turned into a social problem — teenagers started stealing money from their parents for the sake of the game, and several young people undermined their health due to excessive enthusiasm for online battles.
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