Tencent Games is experimenting with facial recognition technology as part of its agenda to comply with new Chinese policies. Testing is being done with the game Honor of Kings, the Chinese version on which Arena of Valor was based.
The measure seeks to restrict the amount of hours children can play per day. Since September 29, the company has started testing in Beijing and Shenzhen, with thousands of randomly selected players. The purpose is to confirm a player's identity and age, and whether gameplay limits should apply.
It's unclear exactly how Tencent will confirm users' identities through facial recognition, what technology is being used, and whether it can be used on a larger scale. Honor of Kings is one of the most popular games in China, even defeating League of Legends at the height of its fame.
According to Tencent, a survey of 600 gamers also showed concern of half of respondents about showing their face in the game.
Some checks have already been put in place. A real-name recognition system was integrated last month into efforts to prevent users from circumventing game restrictions.
Such gameplay limits were implemented last year after criticism from the Chinese government about the game being "addictive".
This means that children under the age of 12 are restricted to one hour of play per day. Those aged 12 to 18 were limited to two hours a day.
Whether facial recognition technology will roll out to all Chinese gamers remains to be seen.
China's Ministry of Education has blamed games for myopia rates among children and teenagers, which it aims to reduce through new regulations.
For those who don't know, in China, there are several restrictions for electronic games. We will address the topic soon in an exclusive article. Don't miss out.
- Honor of Kings – IPHONE E IPAD
Chinese version link on App Store China (Playable in Spain)
- Honor of Kings – ANDROID
Chinese Version Link (playable in Spain)
Fonte: Pocket Gamer Biz.
