China to launch authentication system for online games

SHANGHAI -- China plans to launch a real-name authentication system for online games before September to prevent gaming addiction among teenagers.

Feng Shixin, an official with the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, told a forum of the ChinaJoy Expo Thursday in Shanghai that gaming companies will be asked to join the system after its launch.

China has been working to build a national real-name authentication system in a response to growing concerns about teenagers' addiction and overconsumption in online games, the official said.

China is the world's largest online game market. Statistics show that the market size hit 231 billion yuan (about $32.6 billion) in 2018, and is expected to reach 300 billion yuan in 2020, and 321.7 billion yuan in 2021.