China has temporarily suspended approval for all new online games in an exceedingly bid to curb a gaming addiction among youngsters, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The decision was revealed at a gathering between Chinese authorities and industry giants Tencent Holdings Ltd and NetEase Inc, the report said, adding that it absolutely was not clear until when the suspension would last.
Beijing on Wednesday had summoned gaming firms including Tencent and NetEase.
Tencent declined to comment. NetEase failed to immediately reply to Reuters request for comment.
China moved in August to ban under-18s from playing video games for over three hours per week, saying this was needed to curb a growing addiction to what it once described as “spiritual opium”.
China has conducted a broad crackdown on a good range of sectors including tech, education and property to strengthen government control after years of runaway growth.
