Tencent may have to sell Riot Games and Epic Games
The trade war between US and China will see another victim soon: Tencent. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), is reportedly looking at forcing Tencent to divest their US holdings, which include Riot Games, Epic Games and also Blizzard-Activision.
CFIUS is reportedly currently looking at whether Tencent’s ownership of Epic Games and Riot Games is a security risk. Tencent was allegedly locked in discussions with CFIUS since the second half of last year, looking for ways to keep its investment in US companies.
A Riot Games representative did state that their company operates independently of Tencent and has implemented “industry-leading practices” to protect player data. This does correspond with what we know, as Tencent allows the companies they own to operate independently instead of meddling in their affairs.
Sources are also reporting that Epic Games are not sharing any user data with Tencent, but whether the CFIUS will take that into account remains to be seen.
Given Biden’s stance against Chinese companies, Tencent should be able to maintain their current stakes in both Riot Games and Epic Games. After all, CFIUS is the same body that was supposed to act against TikTok’s developers ByteDance, although the ban didn’t materialize anyway.
Pokdepinion: I would much rather Tencent have a controlling interest in Riot and Epic, rather than them having to look for a US buyer who might not be as hands-off as Tencent.
