Fortnite Is Shutting Down in China
Fortnite is shutting down in China later this month. After a prolonged test period from Epic Games that looked to bring one of the world's most popular battle royale titles to the planet's most populated region, the developer announced this week that the game will never formally launch in China. And while no such reason for this decision was explicitly given by those at Epic, it seems like regulations within China are likely the culprit behind this move.
Detailed on Fortnite's Chinese website, Epic revealed that it will be officially ending the test server that has been hosting the game in its trial phase within China later this month on November 15. Registrations to play the game closed off earlier this week on November 1, meaning that those who don't already have the game downloaded and have an active account can no longer play at this very moment.
The battle royale genre has been strictly regulated in China.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) November 1, 2021
The domestic games that are approved there have heavy content changes. E.g. No blood / dead bodies / theme is 'military training' and not 'last man standing etc...
PUBG PC wasn't approved in China either.
So what is the real reason that Epic isn't formally releasing Fortnite in China? Well, according to an industry analyst named Daniel Ahmad who specifically covers gaming in the Chinese market, China has always had a number of different regulations in place when it comes to the battle royale genre. Ahmad notes that many titles of this genre that are developed within China have to adhere to certain guidelines such as no blood or dead bodies. Because of this, Epic would have needed to greatly change certain aspects of Fortnite to reach all of the guidelines that have been put in place. Rather than trying to continually adhere to these regulations, Epic seems to now be content with cutting ties in China as a whole.
Even though expanding Fortnite into China would've surely been a big boost for those at Epic Games, the publisher is surely more than content with the game's success in other regions around the globe. After all, Fortnite continues to be a massive hit with every new season of content, which is more than impressive given how long the title has been around at this point.
What do you think about Epic closing down Fortnite in China like this? Let me know your reaction either down in the comments or on Twitter at @MooreMan12.