China may have won esports gold in Arena of Valor but victory unlikely to change Beijing’s tough stance on video gaming
- China’s national team beat Malaysia 2-0 to take the Arena of Valor gold in esports at the Asian Games on Tuesday in Hangzhou
- Chinese video gamers see little prospect of an overall sea change in Beijing’s tough approach to governing the industry
While the first esports gold medal for China at the Asian Games has been celebrated across the country, few expect Beijing to change its tough stance on video gaming, which includes a weekly three-hour play time limit for those under the age of 18.
“It feels so good to see this moment. For a long time professional players have been seen as internet cafe guys addicted to video games … but now esports has mainstream acceptance,” Lin Yan, a Shanghai-based gamer, said on Wednesday.
However, despite an easing of industry regulation in recent months, Chinese video gamers see little prospect of an overall sea change in Beijing’s tough approach to governing the world’s largest video gaming market.
“For policymakers, esports and video gaming are two separate things. I don’t think one gold medal, or more, will change anything [on video gaming regulation],” said Emmanuel Yang, who has been watching esports competitions for League of Legends since 2018.
“I never expected that success in esports competitions would change the mindset of authorities when it comes to relaxing time limits on video gaming [in the country],” said Lin.
While official media noted the victory of Chinese esports team Edward Gaming at the 2021 League of Legends World Championship – one of the world’s most renowned esports tournaments – this did not change a tough regulatory crackdown by authorities on the industry.
