The US government is reportedly considering forcing tech giant Tencent to sell its stakes in American video game companies, citing national security concerns related to access to the data of millions of players in the country, according to today's report in the Financial Times.
The review dates back to the first Trump administration through the CIFUS foreign investment committee and continued under Biden, but it appears that the agencies failed to agree on the best course of action, with the Justice Department proposing a heavy-handed approach (such as the aforementioned divestment) and the Treasury opting for mitigation (e.g. data segregation).
Although Epic Games (Fortnite, Unreal Engine, Epic Games Store) and Turtle Rock (Back 4 Blood, Evolve, Left 4 Dead and now an unannounced project) have minor stakes in Tencent, Riot Games (Valorant, League of Legends) could be severely affected by any kind of forced divestment.
It is suggested that the issue could be brought up at the next meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.