On November 15, 2021, the last Chinese gamer will log in for the last time and fight their last battle on the massively popular Fortnite game created by Epic Games. This is because Epic Games has decided to end its three-year beta test of Fortress Night, the Chinese version of the globally popular game Fortnite, and withdraw from China.
In this article, we explore why Epic Games is leaving China and what kind of future Chinese gamers have to look forward to.
First, What Is Fortnite?
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The Chinese version of Fortnite is called Fortress Nite and has some distinct differences from the version available in the rest of the world. For example, under Chinese law, the depiction of skulls is illegal, therefore Fortress Night has no skull depictions whatsoever. This is why the outfit of character Crackshot has been changed to delete skull shapes, Mystique's skull changes to a sphere, and outfits such as Skull Trooper are not available. Fortress Night uses avatars of Asian ethnicity in order to appeal to Chinese gamers.
Why Is Fortnite Leaving China?
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Despite the fact that China is home to the world's largest gamer population, Epic Games has announced that on Monday, November 15 at 11 am, they will switch off Fortnite. No reason has been given for the decision, leaving us with no option but to make educated guesses as to why they are doing so.
For the last year, the Chinese government has been on a vast regulatory crackdown of China's tech industry, changing the rules of how tech companies make money and handle data. This crackdown has wiped out more than $1 trillion worth of market capitalization from these companies. One of the financial victims of the crackdown has been Tencent, which owns 40 percent of Fortnite.
In addition, China has not given Tencent Holdings a license to officially launch the game in the country, leaving the game to operate in beta mode, where Fortnite is banned from charging players. In any case, Chinese gamers are banned from spending more than $57 a month on purchases within video games, lowering revenues for game creators. In addition, China recently ordered video game companies to restrict gaming time to three hours a week (from 8 pm to 9 pm on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays), for players under 18 years of age.
All these challenges must have led Epic Games to conclude that China is simply not a viable market for them from both a financial and regulatory standpoint. The Chinese Communist Party's announcement that its tech reforms will continue for five years must have convinced Epic Games it was time to pull the plug on their Chinese adventure.
What Options Are Chinese Gamers Now Left With?
Well, there's always the magical virtual private network (VPN), the go-to option for Chinese citizens to get around internet restrictions in their country. With VPNs, they can still access the global version of Fortnite. However, the Chinese government has become really good at shutting down VPNs, too.
Although the Chinese government heavily censors foreign games, it seems to have stopped issuing licenses to foreign games altogether.
The best bet for Chinese gamers, therefore, is games that are designed, developed, and produced in China. These include games such as Genshin Impact, Conqueror’s Blade, and Let’s Hunt Monsters.