Gaming moral panic hits Tencent's stock

The world’s biggest online gaming company, Tencent, is running into problems at home in China as debate rages over how long children play its popular games. Tencent unveiled a new system that limits the time children play its top-grossing mobile game, Honor of Kings, saying that it was taking the lead to roll out policies to prevent gaming addiction, which has been linked to a spate of suicides and crimes. Yet state media continued to criticize the company’s hit game, which had 50 million daily active users at the end of last year, The Wall Street Journal reports. The controversy sent a chill through investors, with the company’s stock tumbling 4.1% on Tuesday, dragging down Hong Kong’s stock index on which it is the largest constituent. Analysts warned the limitations on play time will have a negative impact on Tencent, one of Asia’s biggest public companies, which pulls in about 30% of its revenues from mobile gaming.