Video game addiction could be made an official disease after it was officially recognised and classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The disorder has been suggested by some medics as a distinct behavioural addiction characterised by excessive or compulsive use of computer games or video games that affects an individual’s daily life.
Last June, WHO included gaming disorder within the 11th revision of its international classification of diseases and next week it will vote on whether to make it an official disease.
Games developers have said they are listening to and acting on rising concerns about the disorder.
Microsoft said it is giving more power to parents to control how much time their children can spend gaming.
Microsoft’s head of gaming Dave McCarthy told Sky News: “We put a lot of controls in place that parents can leverage to manage things like screen time and game usage.
“And we also think as an industry there is more we can and should do around research and collaboration.”
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Skynews