On Monday morning, a decision that impacts millions of gamers in one of the most densely populated countries in the world passed in an effort to curb video game addiction among kids.

According to a ruling, individuals under the age of 18 can only play video games for three hours per week, which includes a maximum of one hour each day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (only from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.). Video games will be strictly prohibited to minors Monday through Thursday.

In a series of decisions to help enforce these measures, game publishers in China are required to track children's playtime. In order to do this, players must register gaming accounts under their real identities. Publishers discontinue playing access to minors when certain time thresholds have been reached on their accounts daily.

In a 2019 ruling, kids under the age of 18 were allowed to play up to 1.5 hours each day for a maximum of 10.5 in a given week. Now, that number will be capped at three.

Over the course of the last few years, gaming conglomerates in China, Tencent, and NetEase, have been hit with numerous data protection, anti-monopoly, and regulation laws to curb what the Chinese government views as a rise in video game addiction among children in the country. 

China considers excessive video game playing as an "impulse control disorder" and has made a concerted effort to crack down on playtime among kids.