China's Tencent is testing a new control setting that will require parental permission for children aged 13 and below who are first-time players of games. The decision was made following the emergence of concerns over gaming addiction among children.
Tech experts noted that the Chinese tech giant's latest move is an effort to reduce the government and parents' concerns over increasing gaming addiction in young players, Caixin Global reported.
Some parents blamed a number of popular games for poor eyesight among their young children. With the new setting called Child Lock Mode under testing procedures, the company is looking to lessen worries among concerned parents and the Chinese government.
So far, tests of the Child Lock Mode have been rolled out in Changchung, Beijing, and Chengdu for popular games released by Tencent. These games are "Playerunknown's Battlegrounds" and "Honor of Kings." Additional tests are expected to take place in nine other Chinese cities. Once completed, the tests will collected feedback will be used in discussing ways to effectively implement parental controls in China.
The Shenzhen-based tech firm has been working on its prevention policies as part of its efforts in easing government fears about the potential negative impact of gaming addiction in children. Games Industry reported that Tencent is making use of facial recognition and player ID checks to ensure that players are of age before they can play games.
Young players will also have limited playing time as part of the company's plan to limit minor access to its games. Rules on pornography, gambling, and violence have also been imposed for streaming game content.
Meanwhile, Beijing continues to tighten its grip on the gaming sector as it recently released a list of 93 approved domestic games. It is worth noting that no Tencent game appeared on the list.
Despite challenges that Tencent and other gaming giants have to overthrow, China's online gaming population surged last year. Xinhua reported that the number of gamers increased by 9.6 percent as of December 2018.
The China Internet Network Information Center's report stated that around 459 million gamers played through their mobile phones, accounting for a 12.7 percent hike from 2017. Aside from increasing gaming enthusiasts in the country, cooperation between foreign and local game platforms also improved.
On the other hand, central authorities are not easing up on filtering content that could negatively affect the gaming community in China. A number of campaigns have been launched to eradicate vulgar content in online games.
