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Riot urges 'League of Legends' pros to keep quiet on 'sensitive' issues
Riot is trying to keep its hands clean after Blizzard banned a pro player for supporting Hong Kong protests on-camera. The League of Legends developer's esports head John Needham has issued a statement saying that Riot has "reminded" pro players and hosts to avoid discussing "sensitive issues" during broadcasts, including politics and religion. It argued that personal views should stay "separate" as there was no way they could be "fairly represented" in the space of a game tournament. There's not enough room for the patience and subtleties these subjects require, the studio said.
Epic says it won't ban players for political speech
Epic is using Blizzard's ban on a Hong Kong protest supporter to tout its own stance on political speech. The developer told The Verge in a statement that it "wouldn't ban or punish" a Fortnite player or creator simply for expressing "views on politics and human rights." Fortnite World Cup players shouldn't worry about losing their winnings for using their on-camera time as a pulpit. Of course, whether or not this merits praise is another matter -- it really just announced that it's doing what many people hope it would do, and it would be more surprising if the company joined Blizzard's chorus.
Blizzard bans 'Hearthstone' pro for Hong Kong protest support
The esports world is finding itself embroiled in a political dispute. Blizzard has banned pro Hearthstone player Ng Wai Chung (aka Blitzchung) for a year after he voiced support for Hong Kong protesters in a post-match interview. The statement allegedly violated rules forbidding players from saying something that "offends a portion or group of the public" or "otherwise damages" Blizzard's image. The developer is also kicking Chung out of the Grandmasters, eliminating his winnings from the tournament and halting work with the casters who conducted the interview despite their attempts to distance themselves from the statement.
Google, Intel and Microsoft form data protection consortium
It's common to secure data when its sitting put or flying to its destination, but not so much when you're actually using it -- there's still a risk someone could peek at your content while you work. Industry heavyweights might help keep your info secure at every step, though. Google, Intel, Microsoft and seven other companies have formed the Confidential Computing Consortium to help in "defining and accelerating" open source tech that delivers truly private data access. Ideally, data will always be encrypted or otherwise limited to whoever is meant to be looking.
Tencent's own battle royale game has hackable zombies
At first glance, Synced: Off-Planet looks like a battle-royale blend of Left 4 Dead, The Division and World War Z. When Tencent Next Studios debuted the game at NVIDIA's Gamescom 2019 press conference, social media lit up with comparisons to these existing franchises. Some comments wrote off the game as a cheap clone, while others were intrigued by the idea of a new, yet familiar-looking shooter. "You can argue it looks like World War Z and The Division," Next creative director Clark Jiayang Yang said the day after Synced's reveal. "But to be honest, having so many players -- we have 48 players in a round and 1,500 AI zombies in the same place. That's something that in any other games we haven't really seen before."
Chinese video-game censorship doesn't end with 'Devotion'
By all accounts, Devotion was a great game. That sentence has to be in past tense, and the opinion has to be second-hand, because Devotion was only available to play for one week earlier this year. But apparently, it was a twisted and masterful psychological horror title inspired by games like PT, but steeped in Taiwanese superstition. Devotion landed on Steam in February and it quickly earned thousands of positive reviews. And then China got involved.
Tencent is at the center of Nintendo's Switch launch in China
After announcing that it would bring the Switch to China, Nintendo has revealed some details about how it will work and the role of its partner, Tencent. The Chinese tech giant will help Nintendo build simplified Chinese language versions of previously announced games like Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Tencent will also provide cloud services for the Switch Online service in China and modify the eShop to work with its widely-used WeChat Pay system.
Qualcomm-Tencent collaboration will include 5G gaming phones
Qualcomm and Chinese giant Tencent have announced they will cooperate on a range of projects, including a 5G gaming device.
Tencent adds age-based playtime limits to ‘League of Legends’ in China
In the face of pressure from the Chinese government, Tencent and Riot Games have added age-based time limits to League of Legends in China, Polygon reports. Minors now get booted from the game after two hours of play, and the companies use China's national ID numbers -- which are used to make accounts -- to verify ages. Supposedly, the new rules are an attempt to curb gaming addiction.
'League of Legends' might be coming to smartphones
League of Legends might eventually take up residence on fans' iOS and Android homescreens. Developer Riot is said to be working with parent company Tencent on a mobile version of the ultra-popular MOBA.
'Game of Thrones' finale blocked in China due to trade war
The Game of Thrones finale may have aired last night but the show isn't over yet -- at least in China, where the episode has yet to air. Tencent Video, the streaming platform that controls the rights of HBO's series in China, didn't broadcast the show's conclusion Monday morning when it was supposed to air. Instead, the service displayed a message that the show wasn't available due to "transmission medium problems," though HBO believes it is fallout from the recent trade dispute between the US and China.
‘PUBG’ is now the patriotic ‘Game for Peace’ in China
Following months of regulatory challenges, games publisher Tencent has pulled the blockbuster PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds out of China and replaced it with a game more in keeping with the country's socialist views.
The Switch might finally go on sale in China
It seems the Switch may soon arrive in China, as Nintendo has teamed up with Tencent to bring its ultra-popular console to an enormous market. Guangdong province's game regulator has provisionally given the green light for a trial version of New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe for the Switch. Nintendo told Reuters it has applied for approval to sell the console itself, but the process is multi-layered, so it may take some time before the Switch actually goes on sale in China.
Tencent 's game store is available outside of China
Just because China's Tencent owns a stake in Epic Games (not to mention other game publishers) doesn't preclude it from offering an international game store of its own. The tech giant has launched a Hong Kong-based WeGame X service that's accessible worldwide, including in English (available through a drop-down menu), through both the web as well as a dedicated client. It'll seem familiar if you've used the Epic Games Store or other Steam-like services, although it's not about to give those heavyweights much reason for concern in its current state.
Razer says software, not hardware, is holding back mobile gaming
In between launching a range of outlandish pink products and affordable accessories so far this year, Razer made the surprising move of abandoning its online game store and mobile team. The latter, in particular, is an awkward move after two generations of Razer Phones, while the likes of ASUS, Xiaomi, Nubia and Vivo are capitalizing on the rapidly growing mobile gaming market. Never one to admit defeat, CEO Min-Liang Tan said this was just part of his company's evolving mobile gaming strategy, with its focus shifted to software as the industry transitions to 5G.
'Call of Duty: Mobile' beta opens soon with classic maps and gameplay
Late last year Tencent and Activision started testing an Android mobile version of Call of Duty, and today at GDC, announced that the game will start a beta test soon that's available in regions including Europe as well as North and South America. Call of Duty: Mobile maintains the look and feel of the game's performance on at least Xbox 360 and PS3-era hardware, plus it promises familiar maps from previous entries like Black Ops and Modern Warfare. The mobile version is a free-to-play title focused on competitive multiplayer matches in modes like Search-and-Destroy, Team Deathmatch and free for all. There's no word on exactly when the beta test will start on both iOS and Android, but interested players can sign up for access on the official site here, and check out a brief trailer below.
China expands its gaming whitelist with titles from Tencent and NetEase
More than a month after China lifted its freeze on video games, it's finally given the all clear to a handful of titles from the country's two biggest publishers. Offerings from Tencent and NetEase are on the latest list of 95 government-approved games, according to the South China Morning Post. The video game blockade was introduced in March as the government began restructuring the country's gaming body amid renewed criticism of addiction and sexual and violent content.
China's first video game approvals in months don't include Tencent
A week after China approved its first batch of video games in nine months, the list is finally available... and who's not included may be more notable than who is. The country's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television has announced that 80 online games made the cut, but industry giant Tencent wasn't part of that initial mix. It's not certain why regulators didn't greenlight Tencent games, although China recently instituted an ethics committee that would ensure games don't promote addiction, short-sightedness and some forms of sex and violence.
China resumes game approvals to the delight of Tencent
China's hiatus on game approvals is over, according to local media reports. The first batch of titles have been greenlit, effectively ending a blockade that had been in place since March. Internet giant Tencent -- which was forced to pull popular games like Monster Hunter: World due to the freeze -- saw its shares jump 4.6 percent, following months of drubbing on the stock market. However, the approvals process remains unclear and it's unknown which titles made the cut.
Tencent games will verify IDs to limit playing time for children
Chinese tech giant Tencent has imposed game time limits on younger players to curb addiction and promote healthy habits, but it's now taking some dramatic steps to enforce those restrictions. The company plans to verify the identities and ages of players to determine how long they're allowed to play. Tencent will check IDs through police databases and set the game time accordingly, giving the 12-and-under crowd one hour of play (and then only between 8AM and 9PM) while the 13-to-18 audience gets two hours.
