In future, minors in China will only be allowed to spend three hours a week playing online games.
As the state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday, the authorities have introduced new rules according to which under 18-year-olds are only allowed to play for one hour on Friday evenings between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
At all other times, companies should be prohibited from offering games.
Corresponding reviews would be intensified, it said.
Companies also need to ensure that players log in using their real names.
"Spiritual Opium"
Because there are concerns in China that teenagers could become addicted by spending too much time playing online, providers had to strictly regulate their services beforehand.
Most recently, one and a half hours were allowed per day, and three hours could be played on public holidays.
In a government publication a few weeks ago, video games were described as "intellectual opium" for China's youth.
The new rules come at a time when overseers are tightening the thumbscrews across the technology sector. According to insiders, the government in Beijing also wants to drastically restrict the IPOs of Chinese technology companies in the United States. The share prices of many companies have therefore fallen sharply.