On Thursday night, President Donald Trump signed an executive order stating that bothTikTok and WeChatwould be banned from the United States if their Chinese parent companies did not sell their shares to US-based companies within 45 days. WeChat’s parent company is Tencent, a Chinese based company that owns shares not only in the communication app, but is also a prominent investor and presence in the video game industry. With the news of this ban, many gamers have grown nervous as to what this could possibly mean for the games they enjoy daily.
President Trump’s executive orders come following a week of debating whether or not he wanted to ban TikTok and its parent company,ByteDance, from operating in the US. According to the orders, the President believes that both TikTok and WeChat are storing users' personal data on servers that can be accessed by the Chinese Communist Party, despite TikTok’s data centers being located entirely outside of China.
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While gamers may be concerned for the future of game studios that have received funding from Tencent, there is some hope. According to Tech Reporter Sam Dean at the LA Times, a White House official confirmed that the order is solely aimed at Tencent’s involvement with WeChat, and not studios like Platinum Games orEpic Games.
Tencent’s influence in the world of video games cannot be understated. The company has major investments in some of the biggest video game companies in the world including Riot Games, known for massively popular multiplayer games likeLeague of LegendsandValorant. In addition to investing in popular game studios, Tencent has made a name for itself by acquiring companies like Supercell, the studio behindClash of Clans.
While the executive order may not be targeting Tencent’s video game assets today, that does not mean that the company is out of the woods entirely. President Trump has a long, sordid history with China and Chinese companies. In the past, the President has toyed with the idea of placing atariff on video game consoles and electronics from China.
In addition to his past with China, the President has also been heavily critical of video games since being in office. A year ago following themass shooting of a Walmartin El Paso, Texas, President Trump along with many other politicians blamed video games as an outlet that glorifies violence in youth culture. While this information has been proven wrong countless times over the past few years, it’s clear that the President doesn’t necessarily care whether he is 100% accurate with information. So while Tencent’s investments may be safe today, there is always tomorrow.
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