China’s biggest game developers including Tencent Holdings Ltd have stepped up efforts to build a system to rate games for different ages, as the government tightens its control over a US$38bil (RM157.40bil) industry it accuses of fomenting teenage addiction. 

More than 10 of the country’s top gaming firms – including Tencent, NetEase Inc and Perfect World – have teamed up to devise a system to assign games to one of four age categories, according to a proposal carried on the People’s Daily’s website. The effort is led by the online edition of the state-backed newspaper, often regarded as the mouthpiece of the Communist Party.