Tencent faces pressure over 'addictive game'

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The share price of Tencent continued to slump on Friday after the People's Daily repeatedly criticized its most profitable game “Honor of Kings.”

China's official newspaper said the game is addictive for children.

The “Honor of Kings” has attracted 200 million registered users and is the most profitable game in the world, CGTN’s Chen Tong reported.

In the game, players can choose from dozens of fantasy characters, and then join their friends in a team.

Each round of the game runs about 15 minutes. It is free at first, but players have to pay to get extra weapons or a different interface.

Statistics from iResearch show 54 percent of “Honor of Kings” players are people aged 18 to 28.

They have contributed a good amount to Tencent's revenue. The sales of “Honor of Kings” reached six billion yuan in the first quarter.

China's gaming industry has seen explosive growth in recent years. The smartphone game revenues of Tencent reached 12.9 billion yuan in the first quarter, up 20.6 percent quarter-on-quarter.

Another Chinese gaming giant NetEase saw a revenue increase of almost 36 percent during the same period. The gaming sales volume in China is expected to reach 70 billion yuan this year.

Many parents have complained about their children becoming addicted to the game.

Tencent has started limiting the play time for children and teenagers under 12 are limited to no more than one hour a day and cannot play after 9 p.m.

Those aged 12 to 18 can play no more than two hours a day. However, nothing can stop “Honor of Kings”’s expansion overseas. The game has been warmly received in Vietnam, South Korea and Thailand.

Bloomberg said Tencent would also be launching the game in the US and Western Europe as early as in September 2017.