Fortnite Will Be Shut Down In China Later This Month

Hit battle royale game Fortnite will be shut down in China later this month, Tencent and Epic Games have revealed. The news was posted in a short, surprising message on the website for the Chinese version of the game. Fans weren't given much notice, as downloads and new registrations for the title have already been removed and players only have two weeks left to enjoy the game.

The decision to shut down Fortnite in China was announced on October 31; the game's new registrations and download portals were taken offline today, November 1, and the game's servers will go offline on November 15. That puts the battle royale game's shutdown right around its two-year anniversary in China, though it remains massively popular in many other countries.

The Chinese version of Fortnite differed from the one players experience in other countries like Europe and the Americas. Some notable game mechanics are featured in the Chinese version of the battle royale title, including a separate health bar specifically for the storm. As well, and contrary to the rest of the battle royale genre, multiple players can get a Victory Royale in China's version of Fortnite.

Though China has a massive population of gamers, the country isn't terribly hospitable to the game industry and, among other things, can make it difficult to monetize titles. Fortnite isn't the first battle royale game that has struggled in the nation, with PUBG notably lacking monetization until its transformation into a wildly different — and far more patriotic — title called Game for Peace.

Tencent's announcement about the game's closure in China doesn't include a reason for the decision, but it is likely one that at least partially involves monetization issues. Fortnite in China doesn't include any microtransactions. Another potential reason may involve China's newly introduced and substantially stricter regulations on gaming applied to those under the age of 18.