Tencent Announces Winter Break Youth Gaming Restrictions: Only 14 Hours Total

Tencent Games has released its official restrictions for minors during the winter break and Chinese New Year. The policy stipulates that minors are only permitted to log in between 20:00 and 21:00 on specific dates (Jan 13-15, Jan 20-27, and Feb 3-5), totaling only 14 hours for the entire holiday. Tencent also encouraged youth to plan their break meaningfully by attending activities like science and technology camps.

The gaming community on NGA responded with skepticism and mockery. Many players described the policy as ruthless (using the slang 'no mercy') and argued it would simply drive youth toward short-video platforms instead. Some players joked that they would rather buy their nephews and nieces physical console cartridges than see them trapped in the short-video loop, while others expressed concerns about children adopting 'abstract language' (internet slang) from social media. Many users also questioned the actual effectiveness of these anti-addiction systems, noting that they are easily bypassed by using parents' IDs. As one user aptly put it: 'The cost of anti-addiction measures is that everyone just goes to watch short videos instead—they could even end up tipping streamers.'