Starting November 15, Epic Games will dismantle Fortnite servers in China. The reasons could be linked to Beijing’s video game policy.
Fortnite will say goodbye to China on November 15
Fortress Night, so is the Chinese version of Fortnite, is about to close permanently. The news comes right from Epic Games, which announced the decommissioning of Chinese servers starting in November 15. In reality, users, as early as yesterday – November 1st – are prevented from creating a new account.
In the official statement in Chinese, Epic Games did not provide any reasons for the decision. According to Corriere della Sera, the closure could be linked to the Beijing government’s restrictions on video games. In fact, China defines videogames as “spiritual opium” and has introduced laws aimed at limiting their use.
Fortress Night, in addition to the name, differs from the western version of Fortnite for the absence of in-game purchases. Despite this, the title was particularly popular in China, and the closure of the servers will displease many gamers.
In the meantime, the fight against the gaming world by Xi Jinping’s government is getting more and more intense. Minors can play only three hours a week, and only from 8pm to 9pm on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays or holidays. The Tencent company has even developed a biometric technology capable of recognizing the age of the players, so as to identify any violators. In short, the war on video games in China has just begun, and has already claimed the first victim: Fortnite.