While the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognizes gaming addiction, China has also talked of limiting gameplay as a way to save children's eyesight. As the Los Angeles Times points out, Chinese players of League of Legends, Fortnite and World of Warcraft already have their playtime tracked by their national ID numbers. And since 2017, Tencent has restricted playtime to one hour for Honor of Kings (dubbed Strike of Kings in the West) for kids under 12.

Tencent may see the new restrictions as a way to stave off government intervention. Had Riot Games not agreed to implement the time limits, it could have been cut off from the Chinese market altogether. But the changes have some privacy experts concerned about how far American firms will go to comply with China's tighter social controls.