China’s clampdown on gaming will blunt the nation’s competitive edge just as its professional esports teams gear up for international tournaments, including next year’s Asian Games, players and experts have warned.
Beijing introduced sweeping gaming regulations last week that stipulated that players under 18 could only play online for three hours a week. Professional esports players said the restrictions handed rivals in the US, South Korea and Europe a big advantage.
“China has the most top teams in the world,” Maurice “Amazing” Stückenschneider, a German professional League of Legends player and coach, told the Financial Times. “[Now] it’s impossible [for China] to continue any esports development.”