Tencent is introducing new age verification checks and time limits for children on its video games amid China's ongoing crackdown on gaming addiction.

The technology giant is rolling out a name-based registration system that will be required for all new players of Honour of Kings, a hugely popular fantasy multiplayer role-playing battle game.

The system will cross-reference new players’ identities with police data from China’s security authority, limiting players under 12 to one hour play per day. Older children will be allowed two hours before the game shuts down.

The system will start with the game Honour of Kings, which has a reported 50 million daily users, before being rolled out on other games.

China has been the biggest video game market in the world since 2015 ahead of the United States and Japan. The industry was worth a reported £23.9bn in 2017 and is expected to reach £32bn by 2022.

However, the recent crackdown on gaming addiction has had an adverse impact on Tencent, one of Asia's companies which derives the bulk of its revenues from gaming, and its main competitor Netease.

The state-owned newspaper the People’s Daily has previously targeted the popularity of Honour of Kings, calling the game ‘poison’ and 'a drug'.

The move comes a week after President Xi Jinping’s call for China to focus on optical health, with fears that extended screen time due to gaming addiction can lead to myopia.