US Weighs Forcing Tencent to Divest US Gaming Stakes

The Trump administration is weighing whether to force Chinese tech giant Tencent to divest its stakes in major U.S. video game companies, citing national security risks tied to access to player data, as deliberations continue ahead of a planned April meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Senior U.S. officials have held internal meetings to assess Tencent's ownership in firms such as Riot Games and Epic Games, according to people familiar with the discussions. The review, conducted through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, originated during Trump's first term and persisted under the Biden administration but stalled due to disagreements among agencies. The Justice Department has advocated for divestment to eliminate perceived threats, while the Treasury Department prefers mitigation measures, such as segregating sensitive data to limit access by Chinese authorities.

Tencent fully owns Riot Games, the Los Angeles-based developer behind popular titles like League of Legends and Valorant. The company also holds a roughly 40 percent stake in Epic Games, creator of Fortnite and the widely used Unreal Engine software....