The White House will consider China's influence on the gaming industry and may restrict investments in US companies. The US President's administration is studying how social networks and large platforms affect young people, and now attention may shift to video games.
Reuters, citing the Financial Times, reports that internal discussions are underway about whether to allow Tencent to retain stakes in major studios amid preparations for Donald Trump's meeting with Xi Jinping in April. The question is whether these investments could threaten national security.
Senior officials have held internal meetings to assess whether Tencent's investments in American and Finnish gaming companies pose a risk to the country's security.
Tencent owns stakes in Epic Games (Fortnite, Unreal Engine, Epic Games Store), Riot Games (League of Legends), and, since 2016, a majority stake in Supercell (Clash of Clans).
If this topic does indeed become widespread, it could mark the beginning of a new chapter in the gaming industry: stricter requirements, an emphasis on checking and "controlling" owners, and, in extreme cases, forced changes in the structure of share capital.
