Chinese tech and entertainment giant Tencent has said that it will be introducing systems to restrict how much time children spend playing games.

As reported by Reuters, the firm put out a statement saying it will be bringing in these measures in addition to calling for an industry-wide ban of children below the age of 12 playing video games.

This comes in the wake of local media outlet Economic Information Daily – which has ties to China's government – recently publishing an article that described online video games as "spiritual opium." Not only that, the publication went as far as to single out Tencent's own mobile MOBA title Honor of Kings as an addictive force within society.

Tencent's stock price crashed over 10 per cent in early trading, which translated to roughly a $60 billion drop in market cap.

Video games addiction has become something of a hot topic issue within China. At the end of 2019, the country's content regulator said it was taking action against what was perceived as a mental health issue.