Looks like Fortnite China is shutting down - briefly
(hx) 11:24 PM CET - Nov,01 2021
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Chinese Fortnite Website has word that Fortnite is shutting down in
China. Chinese telecom giant Tencent is famously an
investor in Epic Games, but a
translation of the note, which is naturally in Chinese, calls this localized
version of the survival/battle royale game a "test." Word is registration of new
accounts ends as of today, and that game servers will shut down on November
15th. It's not clear how successful Fortnite was in China, but it's over now: Nobody will be able to register and download the game after November 1st, and the servers will shut down. Fortnite's availability was billed as a test, and is referenced as such in the shutdown announcement. The version of Fortnite available in China was quite different from the rest of the world. Matches were shorter, allowing for multiple players to claim a Victory Royale as long as they stayed alive. Other mechanics were changed to make the game more casual, like a separate health bar for damage from the storm.
There's rampant speculation on social media that the shutdown has something to do with China's crackdown on online games. Fortnite's audience is overwhelmingly younger, and China really doesn't want young people playing online games, going so far as to use facial recognition to stop them. |
Updated:10:44 AM CEST Sep,20
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