Korean "Cooltime" legislation may limit League of Legends game time for teens

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

Earlier this week it was announced on reddit that Korea is considering legislation that would curb the playing time of teenagers and tax game companies in order to help combat gaming addiction. The law, which has been regarded as the "Cooltime" law, would lock out players under a certain age for 10 minutes after a set period of time. Initial reports are stating the time period is two hours before the mandated break would begin, and will affect all online games, including League of Legends.

Riot Korea CEO Jin Ho appeared in front of an audit panel on November 6th where he answered questions about League of Legends and, what Korean officials deemed, addicting content. This included questions about fan art of female champions, and the addicting nature of a 5v5 game.

Korea implemented a "Shutdown" law in 2011 which prohibits teenagers from playing online video games from 12 A.M. to to 6 A.M. Additionally, many online games in Korea have fatigue mechanisms in place to discourage racking up excessive play time. For example, a player may receive reduced rates of experience or in-game currency depending on the amount of time played in a certain game in one sitting.

"It has a significant impact on HOW games are developed here and the mindset with which developers approach gaming," said reddit user southy_korea.

Korea is famous for it's dedication to esports, but it is unclear how the Cooltime law will impact the competitive scene there. It is rumored that the law will allow an exception for professional gamers.

Korea is also notoriously strict on their youths, with education being a major source of stress and exhaustion. Video games are one of the outlets Koreans use to relax, but it's feared that the Cooltime law will restrict that even more.

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