The Chinese version of Fortnite ends after years of testing -apkrig
There is no doubt that the Chinese video game market is an outside view somewhat specific. As has been said many times, the tastes of the local players differ significantly from ours, and state regulation enters into the content or form of individual titles on a large scale. No blood, no dead bodies, everything must resemble game, even when it comes to dealing with a real topic and, last but not least, the need to keep in mind the limitation that, in the case of online games, concerns the number of hours set aside for teenagers to connect and play. Perhaps for these reasons, Epic Games and Tencent’s initiative to bring Fortnite to the Chinese market, which has been in testing for two years and is still close to being granted permission to be an officially distributed and mainly monetized product, is coming to an end.
The approaching end of Fortress Night – as the Chinese version of Fortnit is called – is reported by foreign media with reference to a report from the game’s official website. It is not too long and goes straight to the most important without further explanation. “Testing of Fortress Night is coming to an end and the servers will be shut down in the near future,” says the developers. As of yesterday, the possibility of registering new players has stopped working and from November 15, the game will simply not run. “Thank you to everyone who got on the bus and took part in the beta version,” the developers conclude their message and say goodbye to the fans very quickly.
To add clarity, Fortnite never officially launched in China
The game has been undergoing testing for the past 2+ years and does not include IAP
This is because the game was never approved by the govt and therefore could not officially launch + monetise. Hence the shut down now. https://t.co/oj1Wx6JsM3
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) November 1, 2021
Although it might seem that only the testing phase is coming to an end, which will be followed by the release of a sharp version after some time, no one is approaching the report. Relevant information is provided by analyst Daniel Ahmad, who specializes in China and adds important context. As mentioned above, the game was not even called Fortnite in China and was not compatible with the original game operated in other regions. At the same time, Epic and Tencent had to spend considerable funds to get the whole thing moving and, most importantly, to come up with the desired changes that would not hinder the state approval of distribution and operation. However, according to Ahmad, this was still in sight and caused the end of the whole initiative.
However, the question is to what extent it will actually harm the developers or Tencent, which owns a 40 percent stake in Epic Games. Representatives of none of the companies have provided any further comments so far, and there is still at least a partial hope for Chinese players that it is information noise or a misunderstanding of the current situation and Fortnite in China will eventually come out. However, if not, it will be primarily players who, given the number of other titles, can actually be quite one…
