A Chinese Video Game Rakes in Cash — and Draws Young Rule Breakers
Tencent already allowed parents to monitor their children’s use of the game, but it imposed the tougher restrictions last month, one day after People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s main newspaper, called Honor of Kings “poison to the teenager.” This month, an official military newspaper warned
that the game could distract soldiers from their duties.
On Wednesday, its creator, the Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent Holdings, said
that Honor of Kings helped power a nearly 40 percent rise in its game revenue in the three months that ended in June.
“I have two accounts, and most of my friends also do this to bypass the restrictions.”
Honor of Kings offers swashbuckling sword-and-sorcery action through characters familiar to Chinese players.
In response, Tencent has added restrictions that limit those under age 12 to an hour of play a day, and those between 12 and 18 to two hours a day.