Epic Games Store blocks China to protect employees in the country

Chinese gamers are still furious at Epic as competitors continue to sell games in China

Reading Time:3 minutes

Chinese gamers were infuriated when Metro: Exodus became an Epic Games Store exclusive, leaving them with no legal means of acquiring the game. (Picture: 4A Games)

Published: 9:38pm, 27 Mar 2019Updated: 9:00am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Fortnite has made Epic Games one of the hottest gaming companies around. But that popularity doesn’t extend to China.

Epic Games recently said it refuses to sell games in China because it fears for the safety of its employees in the country, but the explanation failed to satisfy Chinese gamers.

They’ve become increasingly frustrated with Epic after it released multiple highly-anticipated games as platform exclusives on the Epic Games Store -- a platform inaccessible from within the country. It’s in sharp contrast with rival Steam, which isn’t officially available in China but is readily accessible to gamers, giving them access to plenty of games they can’t otherwise play.

But the head of Epic Games Store said the move is not out of maliciousness, but one made out of concern for the safety of Epic’s employees in Shanghai.

Steve Allison told VentureBeat that the company doesn’t feel safe selling games to Chinese gamers because local laws prohibit foreign developers from directly selling or operating online games in China.

Allison also alluded to the market incumbent Steam. The platform owned by Valve Corporation has 30 million users in China, but Steam might be operating in a legal gray area by selling games to its users there.

“The way our competitor operates offshore is not legal in China, and they don’t have an office in China,” Allison said. “We have employees there, so we are very sensitive to what is legal and what is not — more for the benefit and safety of our staff. We just don’t want to take any risks that can put them in any legal fire.“

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x

Epic Games Store blocks China to protect employees in the country

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Chinese gamers are still furious at Epic as competitors continue to sell games in China

Chinese gamers are still furious at Epic as competitors continue to sell games in China