Tencent, owner of League of Legends developer Riot Games, has been added to a list of companies with alleged ties to the Chinese military by the US Government.
Tencent has dismissed claims of a possible connection between itself and China’s military apparatus in regards to its potential acquisition of troubled Assassin’s Creed developer Ubisoft, which was reported last year.
A Tencent representative clarified to The Verge after the information became public, stating that the company is not a military firm or provider and intends to collaborate with the Department of Defense to address any misperceptions.
Since the spokesperson is also well-known, this list from the Pentagon will not contain specific sanctions against companies receiving it? As a safeguard, it is engineered to function as a deterrent to US companies, cautioning them against collaborating with foreign entities on IT projects, lest they risk forfeiting future Pentagon contracts they are currently vying for.
According to a report by The New York Times, the list currently comprises 134 companies, including Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL), which was recently added alongside Tencent, with both entities vehemently denying involvement in any military-related activities.
Tencent’s shares plummeted by 7% after the news broke, a significant decline that would likely be unwelcome for the company, which already has significant investments in game developers like Epic Games and Activision Blizzard, not to mention its previously mentioned stakes.
As tensions escalate over significant financial interests, it’s no surprise that Tencent and CATL are considering legal action if diplomatic efforts to remove their companies from the US Department of Defense’s list don’t yield results.
If you’re seeking unconventional Tencent-related news involving critical phrases with US authorities, it emerged that subsidiary Polaris Quest unveiled Gentle of Motiram, an unprecedented game unlike Horizon Zero Dawn, last year.