video game Fortnite is no longer available in China. Video game developer Epic Games has pulled the plug on the Chinese version of the game.
The worldwide popular shooting and survival game has been available as a test version in China since 2018. It was never formally launched. According to the developer, the company has encountered resistance from the Chinese authorities, who are cracking down on game addiction and the tech sector as a whole.
Two weeks ago, Epic Games announced that from today Fortnite would no longer be playable in China. Chinese players now confirm that they can no longer log in, AFP news agency reports. On the Chinese social medium Weibo, players are saying goodbye to the game.
game addiction
China is the world’s largest market for games. But the government says it wants to limit the impact of games on children. Online gaming has been banned since August. For example, minors are only allowed to play on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. According to state news agency Xinhua, the measure is intended, among other things, to combat game addiction.
Companies that offer games are only allowed to offer server space to minors for a few hours a week. The children are required to register with their age and full name, making enforcement easy.
In addition to restricting the game industry, China is also limiting the dominant position of other tech companies with stricter regulations. For example, Chinese tech companies that want to make a foreign IPO must get permission from the government. They often do not get it, because the authorities would see a potential risk to national security in the data.
Epic Games is not the first foreign company to take a product away from China. Earlier, Microsoft announced that it is ending a Chinese version of the social media platform LinkedIn. Yahoo also withdrew from the Asian country earlier. In those cases, it was largely due to Beijing’s censorship of critical voices.