Donald Trump’s administration is apparently debating whether to let Tencent, a Chinese tech company, keep its investments in video games companies based in the US, such as Fortnite maker Epic Games and League of Legends maker Riot Games.
The Financial Times heard from “several people familiar with the internal deliberations” that meetings have been – and are being – held to determine whether Tencent’s investments pose a security risk. These meetings are being held ahead of Donald Trump visiting China in April.
Tencent has its fingers in lots of pies. In the US, Tencent fully owns League of Legends and Valorant maker Riot Games, and it holds a significant 28 percent stake in Epic Games, the maker of Unreal Engine and Fortnite.
Outside of the US, Tencent has notable investments in studios such as Baldur’s Gate 3 maker Larian, Souls series maker FromSoftware, and PUBG maker Krafton. Tencent has also invested in Discord and was recently revealed as the secret funder behind doomed multiplayer shooter Highguard.
Trump’s administration is also reportedly discussing the security risk posed by Clash of Clans, which – despite being made in Finland by Tencent company Supercell – has a large enough audience in the US to be of concern.
Should the Trump administration attempt to boot Tencent out of US gaming, the ramifications could be huge.
It’s worth noting that concern surrounding Tencent doesn’t originate from Trump’s administration. Joe Biden’s administration was also investigating Tencent, apparently, particularly with regards to ties with the Chinese military. “These platforms could serve as a significant intelligence collection source,” said a former Biden official who worked in this area, Chris McGuire, to the Financial Times.
