President Trump’s administration is currently debating whether to allow Chinese megacorp Tencent’s stakes in major U.S. companies such as Fortnite maker Epic Games and League of Legends developer Riot Games to continue.
The FT reports that “top officials” have met to assess the security risk of Tencent’s investments in numerous U.S. and Finnish gaming firms ahead of President Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month.
Tencent has been acquiring western game companies for well over a decade now, but its most high-profile investments include a 28% stake in Epic Games, which is based in North Calorina, and the wholly owned Riot Games, which is based in Los Angeles. It also wholly owns Finnish company Supercell, which runs mobile mega hit Clash of Clans, and recently invested in a new Ubisoft business following the Assassin’s Creed maker’s financial troubles.
Sources said that Tencent was negotiating with the U.S. administration’s Committee on Foreign Investment (Cfius) last summer to help ease these security concerns, and, as far back as President Trump’s first term, was assessing whether Tencent’s investments could jeopardize the data of millions of American players. Cifus is similarly concerned about the company’s acquisition of Finnish firm Supercell, which has a huge player base in the U.S.
In January last year, the U.S. Department of Defense classified Tencent as a Chinese military company. At the time, Tencent insisted it was all a mistake. The upshot of this latest development is that the Trump administration may force Tencent to divest the gaming companies, or force it to create data protections it’s satisfied with. Neither the White House nor Tencent or Epic responded to requests for comment.
Photo by Ying Tang/NurPhoto via Getty Images.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
