Tencent closes Twitch competitor Penguin Esports months after China banned a $6 billion gaming merger

Tencent has announced that the service Penguin Esports will be discontinued as of June, because of an alteration in their business approach.

Tencent's Penguin Esports, like Amazon's Twitch, broadcasts expert gaming tournaments and other video game-related material live. Tencent is one of the world's greatest online gaming firms, and it's creating a huge push into expert gaming, often also referred to as e-sports, in the hopes of generating additional profits.

Tencent's goals have been harmed by the latest step, which happened a few months after Chinese regulators blocked a significant merger that would have made Tencent among the few of the world's largest cloud gaming companies.


Tencent suggested merging Huya and DouYu, the two most amazing live game streaming startups in which it held prominent investments, in 2020. Tencent planned to take its Penguin Esports brand under the merged organisation, estimating the value of the new firm at about 6 billion dollars.

However, Chinese regulators banned the purchase last year due to antitrust fears.

Tencent has now stated that the new user registration on Penguin Esports would be disabled as of Thursday. The app will be eradicated from app stores on June 7th, and its software will be closed to access.

Tencent consistently invests in sectors such as e-sports, but Chinese officials have made strict gaming laws to safeguard young users from addiction, including limiting the number of times children under the age of eighteen can play online.

Tencent, which had reported poor quarterly financial profits in the 4th quarter of last year, is feeling the pinch.