Time limit in games is nothing new, but it is mostly used as a monetisation attempt. Games in arcades apply this model to encourage players to pay for more game time and there are games that makes players skip waiting time to make progress usually seen in free-to-play titles.
Tencent, the giant Chinese gaming company that owns Riot (League Of Legends), Supercell (Clash Of Clans) and a huge stake in Epic, have started to implement a time limit in one of their MOBAs called Honour Of Kings. This mobile game is played by 200 million people, mostly in China, and has been attracted complaints from teachers and parents on children getting addicted to the game.
MOBAs always have a bad reputation thanks to the toxicity of some players- the genre requires players to not only work together but understand the game in full or face the wrath of frustrated players.
As such, Tencent has started taking action. Users below the age of 12 will be gated to only one hour of play per day, with players of age 12-18 limited to two hours a day.
“There are no rules to prevent indulgence in mobile games in China, but we decided to be the first to try to dispel parental worries by limiting play time and forcing children to log off,” reads the statement by Tencent on its official WeChat account.
Honour Of Kings starting to roll out to Europe and North America. It is not known that the time limit will be imposed to new players outside of China.