'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
US President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order targeting two Chinese platforms. The order, which will be applicable in 45 days, has banned all transactions related to WeChat that fall under the jurisdiction of the US. The other platform that was targeted was TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
Regardless, gaming fans are largely bothered about the ban on transactions related to WeChat as the platform is owned by Tencent. Further, the text of the order is as follows:
“…any transaction that is related to WeChat by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with Tencent Holdings Ltd.”
As you can see, the text mentions Tencent and suggests that all transaction related to any property related to the company will be banned. Well, this includes Fortnite.
Want to know what items might feature in the shop tomorrow? Check out our predictions for tomorrow's Fortnite Item Shop
Tencent Shakedown: Is Fortnite getting banned?
The issue is that Tencent has a major hand in multiple prominent games and gaming companies. Apart from WeChat, Tencent owns Riot Games (100% stake), and has an 84% stake in Supercell, along with 5% stakes in Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard.
Most of all, Tencent also has a 40% stake in Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite. Therefore, it seems as if Donald Trump had, with one move, totally decimated the gaming industry. Major games like Fortnite, Valorant and many others would be affected.
However, that now appears to not be the case. Prominent LA Times reporter Sam Dean has confirmed that the order is not relevant for the gaming companies owned by Tencent and will only block transactions related to the WeChat platform.
In addition, the reporter observed that the text of the order itself was vague and did seem to suggest that transactions related to all Tencent properties will be affected.
What this means is that the intent behind the order is not to impact the entire gaming industry by blocking out all transactions in the games that are fully or partly owned by Tencent. Instead, it is only relevant for WeChat-related transactions. Henceforth, gamers can wipe the sweat off their brows, and well, continue gaming.
You can check out the Twitter post below.
The Battle Bus is heading into Fortnite! Check out the final Fortnite item shop today!
