Gaming requirements in China: “Unmanly content” will be banned

After the drastic restrictions on online games for minors – they are only allowed to play online for three hours a week – the next blow is coming for the gaming industry in China. Manufacturers must remove “unmanly content”.

The big tech companies like Tencent and Netease have been ordered by Chinese regulators to remove “obscene and violent” content from their online games, according to the state news agency Xinhua. Also, content that promotes “unhealthy tendencies such as money worship and feminization” must be removed.

No more “effeminate men” on TV

Last week, China’s television stations and streaming services were ordered to remove “effeminate men” from their programs. The orders are part of a regulatory campaign that primarily affects the entertainment industry and large technology groups.

At a meeting with the authorities, the IT companies were also obliged to strictly implement the new restrictions on online games. Since September 1st, children and young people in China are only allowed to gamble online for three hours a week. This was justified with growing gambling addiction among minors.

Approval of new games apparently suspended

The Hong Kong newspaper “South China Morning Post” also reported, citing insiders, that the approval of new video games in China will be suspended. There was initially no official confirmation. The IT giants are likely to be hit hard by a moratorium. Tencent is the largest video game manufacturer in the world. The shares of Tencent and Netease initially plummeted on the stock exchanges.

The Chinese authorities normally allow dozens of new online games every month – in the first six months of this year there were around 600. Already in 2018, the approval of new games had been suspended for months. At that time, too, the authorities justified this with concerns about gambling addiction and myopia in children and adolescents.