Epic Games to shut down Fortnite in China amidst tech crackdown

Epic Games is shutting down its game Fortnite in China amid the authorities' crackdown on tech companies, as players in China cannot access it after 15 November.  According to multiple reports including CNA, Tencent-backed Epic Games will stop the operation of Fortnite on 15 November. The report cited a statement from the company, which said Fortnite China's Beta test had reached an end and the servers will be closed soon, adding that On 15 November at 11 am, the company will turn off game servers, and players will no longer be able to log in.

The shutdown is equivalent to an end to Fortnite specifically created for the Chinese market. This Chinese test version was released in 2018. However, the game never received the government's approval for a formal launch, as the Chinese government's approvals for new games have slowed. Fortnite is a popular game among games from around the world, boasting more than 350 million users globally. 

China has been cracking down on internet companies in recent times. In September, the government cut the amount of time children can spend playing online drastically, as online gamers under the age of 18 will only be allowed to play for an hour on Fridays, weekends and holidays. Players also need to use ID cards to register. 

Amidst the crackdown, Tencent has also been ordered by China's antitrust regulator The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) to give up its exclusive music licensing rights. It has also been fined for unfair market practices in the online music market after acquiring China Music Corporation in 2016.

In a statement, SAMR said after investigating the tech giant's activities in the online music broadcasting platform market in China and the acquisition of China Music five years ago, as Tencent currently owns more than 80% of exclusive music library resources, such dominance offers Tencent an advantage over its competitors while it is able to reach more exclusive deals with copyright holders as music copyright is the core asset. 

This is also not the first incident that a US-based company to remove a product from China lately. In October, LinkedIn announced the shutting of its localised service in China. The Microsoft-owned platform said in a blog post that the decision comes as it faces "a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China."  "While we’ve found success in helping Chinese members find jobs and economic opportunity, we have not found that same level of success in the more social aspects of sharing and staying informed," it said.

Shortly after LinkedIn announced its exit out of China, Yahoo also made headlines for wanting to pull out of China as a result of an "increasingly challenging business legal environment". "In recognition of the increasingly challenging business and legal environment in China, Yahoo’s suite of services will no longer be accessible from mainland China as of 1 November. Yahoo remains committed to the rights of our users and a free and open Internet. We thank our users for their support," the spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. It is understood that Yahoo does not have employees in China.

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