Kids are pretending to be their grandads to outsmart Tencent’s facial recognition system

Tencent is now using facial recognition to identify the players of its blockbuster mobile game Honor of Kings (known as Arena of Valor internationally). The system is designed to prevent minors from spending too much time on the game, which has been described by the Chinese state media as “poison.” But kids in China are already coming up with all kinds of hilariously unsuccessful tactics to cheat the system.

The facial recognition verification system for Honor of Kings was rolled out on Monday after a trial period. According to Tencent, this is the first time such data has been used by the gaming industry to screen users.

The company, one of the biggest gaming firms in the world, introduced real name verification for gamers after receiving criticism from the Chinese government. The new requirement, awkwardly called “health system,” is meant to restrict minors’ playtime to one hour a day for children below 12 years old and two hours a day for gamers aged 12 and above.

The move came after Honor of Kings was criticized for fostering game addiction, with the Chinese government accusing the gaming industry of contributing to myopia among kids. China’s military mouthpiece, People’s Liberation Army Daily, went so far as to call the popular game as a national security threat, saying it could “undermine combat capability.”

Chinese regulators have been restricting new game publications since March. Tencent was also forced to stop selling hugely popular Monster Hunter: World on its WeGame platform and shut down its poker game Texas Hold’Em.

In the wake of these things, the company announced plans to make verification systems mandatory for every single game in its library – both on mobile and desktop.

But this week’s introduction of the facial recognition system didn’t go smoothly. Some annoyed players took to Weibo their complaints about the feature’s hiccups.

“Today, the game mistakenly believed that I had logged in the wrong account and refused my real name,” said one Weibo user. “Now it’s included in the ‘healthcare system.’ How do I go online? It’s very urgent.”

Another user complained that he couldn’t access his precious game because his little brother has been secretly playing it.

Tencent told Abacus that the system is continuously being improved. Meanwhile, individuals awaiting approval are subject to the same limits imposed on kids below 12 years old.

Honor of Kings added a Battle Royale mode in May 2018. / Photo credit: South China Morning Post