2023-12-25 14:16:49
The video game scene in Chine suffered an unexpected earthquake, causing a spectacular fall in the stock market value of one of its main players, Tencent, amounting to a colossal loss of 46 billion dollars in a single night. This financial debacle was triggered by the implementation of new draconian rules by regulatory authorities, aimed at curbing practices deemed excessive in microtransactions within online games.
At the heart of this regulation is a severe restriction on player spending, particularly in the world of online games, particularly those accessible on mobile devices. This limitation puts a brutal brake on the ability of players to recharge their accounts without restriction, with the added bonus of alerts sent to report expenses deemed excessive.
The main objective behind these measures is to curb the uncontrolled expansion of microtransactions allowing the purchase of cosmetic items, characters or other in-game improvements. These practices, often integrated into reward and engagement mechanisms regular gamblers, are denounced for their potential to encourage excessive spending and gambling addiction.
This repression is not limited only to financial transactions. Regulators have also put restrictions in place on live streaming of players making large in-game spends. Streams showing massive purchases of cosmetics or in-game items will now be banned, marking the end of this common practice in promoting in-game products.
Another key measure established by the National Press and Publication Administrations is the ban on lootboxes for minors. This decision, although praised for its desire to protect young players, highlights a significant gap with Europe, where the regulations on these mechanisms are struggling to evolve, thus leaving children and adolescents without any restrictions on microtransactions.
These actions are not isolated in time. There Chine has already restricted the gaming time of young gamers in the past, limiting their access to three hours per week in 2019 and 2021. In addition, regulators will now have to accelerate the approval process for games within 60 days, a approach aimed at easing persistent tensions between video game publishers and the authorities.
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