Tencent will block Chinese players from accessing unlicensed foreign games

Yesterday, Tencent announced that it will no longer support unlicensed foreign games. Starting from May 31, the company will change the operation of the services through which players gained access to them.

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This is reported by Reuters.

According to the publication, the company’s decision was made in connection with the tightening of control over the gaming industry by the state.

We are talking about services that significantly increase the speed of the Internet connection, but their name is not specified by the source. In 2018, Tencent launched such applications for the first time. Today they work both on mobile devices and on computers.

In fact, Tencent won’t ban games directly. However, the Internet speed when connected to Western servers in China is very low. Without special applications provided by companies like Tencent or NetEase, it is extremely difficult for local gamers to get access to games and gaming platforms.

Many of them have been using these services for a long time to play GTA or Animal Crossing, which are banned in China.

Chinese players greeted the news with alarm, but few were truly surprised.

“This was to be expected, given how events are developing. It’s getting harder to be a gamer in China every day,” wrote one of the Chinese Internet users in his blog on Weibo.

Recall that a few days ago, China resumed issuing licenses for the sale of games. The April list of projects that received an ISBN included 45 games. There was not a single Tencent title among them.

Presumably, by its decision, the company shows full loyalty to the government. Tencent itself did not give any comments on the topic.