Supposedly the Chinese megacorp Tencent is up to more than just working in video games if the US Department of Defense is to be believed, as the government body has added the games publisher and developer to its designated list of Chinese military companies.
The inclusion doesn’t immediately apply any form of direct legal harm to Tencent such as sanctions, but word of its addition to the list saw its shares tumble by almost 8% in Hong Kong on the news. Chinese battery maker CATL, which is part of a supply chain for auto makers Ford and Tesla, was also added to the DoD’s list and suffered its own stock price hit.
Readers are already very familiar with Tencent’s reach into our sphere of gaming, as developer of titles like Tarisland, owner of Riot Games, Funcom, and Level Infinite, and major investor of other gaming firms like Larian Studios and Epic Games.
Tencent has already confirmed in a statement that it will fight back against the designation. “We are not a military company or supplier,” said spokesperson Danny Marti. “Unlike sanctions or export controls, this listing has no impact on our business. We will nonetheless work with the Department of Defense to address any misunderstanding.”
