Microsoft, Tencent take different gaming routes

News that Microsoft is paying more than $68bn to acquire video game maker Activision Blizzard comes at the same time as Tencent is limiting Chinese children to a total of 14 hours gaming time over their upcoming four week-long winter break.

Why it matters

Two different worlds of gaming are emerging, with money driving the industry in the west, where Microsoft’s purchase bolsters its Xbox hardware and plays into future metaverse developments. 

In China, however, policy is now in the driving seat, as the government, concerned about the effects of excessive gaming on young people, limits playing time. 

China context

• Last summer China's video game regulator ruled that online gamers under the age of 18 would only be allowed to play for an hour on Fridays, weekends and official holidays.
• Tencent’s reminder of a 14 hour limit for the holiday period comes with a warning that facial recognition software will be used to detect attempts to circumvent it.
• China’s National Press and Publication Administration has not published a list of approved new video game titles since July 2021.

Key quote

“Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms” – Satya Nadella, chief executive of Microsoft.

Sourced from Financial Times, Business Insider, BBC, South China Morning Post