The widely popular battle royale game, Fortnite by epic games is about to shut down in China. In 2018, it was launched in the country in partnership with the Chinese multinational technology conglomerate holding company, Tencent, and had been going through test runs. All of a sudden, the Fortnite shutting down decision came to light as the game declined to accept new registrations in China. In the mid of November, no players will be able to log into the game. The sudden change of plans might have something to do with the Chinese government’s reluctance in approving the game.
Are Chinese Authorities Behind the Fortnite Shutting Down Decision in China?
According to the senior analyst at Niko Partners, Daniel Ahmad, the Chinese government had always been resilient since it never approved the game in the country. Due to this, the company was unable to launch and monetize the game. Also, two years of testing without IAP became concerning. Thus, Fortnite shutting down in China became inevitable.
Other than that, the authorities haven’t been an admirer of video games and gamers in China. In August, they restricted the use of gaming on weekdays and advised under 18 gamers to play only 3 hours on weekends.
Fortnite Loses Millions of Registered Players
Fortnite shutting down in China has resulted in the loss of millions of players. According to its social media profile, Fortnite scored more than 350 million players who registered to play the post-tested game’s version in May 2020. In June, the number of registered accounts went up to 500 million. Epic Games didn’t announce the reason behind shunning the project but presented a token of appreciation to the players who registered themselves.
Fortnite Banned in Other Countries Around the World
China isn’t the only country where Fortnite is unable to entertain gamers. Although, over 350 million players play the game across the globe. The regions include North America, Brazil, Europe Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania but certain countries are still out of the gaming circle. Korea, Jordan, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Israel, and Iraq are the regions deprived of Fortnite. Even the gaming consoles don’t give options of such countries where the flagship or popular online games are banned. However, players often criticize the companies for banning their favorite games.
In 2020, Pakistanis expressed concerns when social media became flooded with the PUBG suspended In Pakistan tweets and posts. They even created memes and became offended with the decision too just like some Chinese gamers are stressing over the decision of Fortnite shutting down in China.
