The shares of the Chinese media holding Tecent lost $17.5 billion in value after a critical publication about the mobile MOBA Honor of Kings in a government newspaper.
The daily newspaper of the Communist Party of China “People’s Daily” wrote about the harmful influence of Honor of Kings on children and adolescents.
Journalists compared the game with a drug and gave examples of death and harm to the health of young people from excessive enthusiasm for online battles: a 13-year-old boy jumped from a roof after a conflict because of his obsession with Honor of Kings, and another 17-year-old almost died of a brain hemorrhage after 40 hours of continuous play.
After the article, Tecent announced the introduction of restrictions for underage players in Honor of Kings. Depending on their age, they will be allowed to play no more than one or two hours a day.
Tencent also intends to oblige all users to provide real passport data when registering.
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