Chinese Conglomerate Tencent Bringing Fortnite to China
Following its success in the western hemisphere, Chinese company Tencent is now set to launch Fortnite in China. Tencent announced during a live presentation on April 23 that it will invest $15 million in promoting the game to its domestic audience.
This promotional campaign includes the creation of an official Chinese Fortnite website where players can download the game upon its release. Tencent is also offering unique in-game items to users who sign up and pre-order their spots on the Chinese server. For Chinese players who have been playing on servers outside of China, Tencent will allow them to transfer their data to a Chinese account to preserve their progress.
The $15 million investment will be used to establish domestic and global esports events for Fortnite in China. Additionally, Tencent plans to collaborate with popular content creators on social media to produce video content about the game.
Fortnite, released on July 25, has quickly become one of the most popular games worldwide, with over 45 million unique players. Tencent, which owns 48.4 percent of Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, had previously attempted to develop its own battle royale games. However, with Fortnite’s success, Tencent is now fully focused on making it a hit in the Chinese market.
The announcement came just a day after the conclusion of the first live Fortnite esports event, which saw Twitch streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins break the site’s record for simultaneous live viewers.
Tencent, the owner of League of Legends developer Riot Games and the exclusive publishing rights to Fortnite competitor Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds in China, is undoubtedly drawn to the popularity of Fortnite in the west. With the game generating approximately $126 million per month, it only makes sense for Tencent to capitalize on its success.