According to Andrey Kharitonchik, two years later, in 2022, developers and operators of gaming platforms in China were required to obtain permission for each game to prevent the appearance of inappropriate content in it. Platforms were required to cancel rewards for players for the first or daily login to the gaming site and other bonuses that encourage regular and long-term play, introduce restrictions on spending in games and the purchase of game currency, remove incentives for such spending, and so on.
Platforms are required to show players a warning banner if they demonstrate “irrational gaming behavior” by spending money to replenish their gaming wallet. According to Ekaterina Duma, these measures in China are aimed at reducing gaming addiction and protecting young people from excessive passion for video games.
“However, such a system is controversial, as many consider it excessively intrusive into privacy and doubt its effectiveness in the long term,” the expert says.
The key and logical consequence of such restrictions was a henan mobile number database serious fall in shares in the gaming industry of both Chinese companies and the largest players in the industry from other countries, adds Andrey Kharitonchik.
According to Andrey Kharitonchik, from the point of view of the supervisory authorities, the new bill on video games will allow for more strict regulation of the work of foreign platforms, impose on them the obligation to accept payments through Russian systems, restrict user access to materials that violate Russian laws, and also leave the possibility of conducting an examination of any game if a complaint is received about it.
“As for players, the most hotly debated requirement for user authorization through the State Services portal, telephone or biometrics concerns only video game publishers,” notes the RIA Novosti source.
As the expert explains, this measure does not oblige digital stores or relevant platforms to implement such authentication systems. However, digital stores will be obliged to restrict access to games if their publisher does not comply with the established rules. This is aimed at creating a safe gaming environment and protecting the rights of users - primarily minors.
However, as the executive director of the company "Igroprom" Anna Kozlova notes, the issue of mandatory identification of gamers in Russia today can hardly be called relevant, since the gaming industry in the country is already going through difficult times. According to the expert, the issue of supporting game developers is more pressing now, rather than introducing restrictions.