Tencent's Role In US Gaming Market Faces Political Uncertainty

Tencent's stakes in various American video companies could be at risk, as US President Donald Trump's administration is debating whether the Chinese company's investment poses a security risk.

According to The Financial Times and Reuters, "several people familiar with the internal deliberations" are assessing Tencent's investments ahead of Trump's upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month. The FT's sources added that Tencent has been negotiating with the US administration's Committee on Foreign Investment for years now, but the acquisition of Clash of Clans studio Supercell--which has a huge US userbase--reignited fears surrounding the company.

Tencent is well-known for having invested in many video game companies across the world, including a 28% stake in Fortnite-maker Epic Games. It also owns Riot Games (League of Legends and Valorant) and has stakes in other notable video game companies like From Software, Krafton, Larian Studios, and Ubisoft.