Fornite China will be shutting down its servers on Nov. 15
The reason for the closure is unknown, but it comes four months after Chinese authorities prohibited children from spending more than three hours per week playing video games.
Chinese Fortnite players had a very different experience than their Western counterparts. They couldn’t purchase the in-game V Bucks currency, and challenges are only available for three hours per day to discourage longer gaming sessions. But that will all change on November 15, when Fortnite China’s servers will be shut down.
The “Fortress Night” test has concluded. “We will be shutting down the server in the near future,” a brief statement on the game’s website reads. On November 1, new players will be barred from signing up for Fortnite, which is known as Fortress Night in China. The server will be shut down on November 15th.
“Thank you for everyone who boarded the bus and participated in the “Fortnite” test!”
Fortnite The closure in China comes after a year-long crackdown on Big Tech in the country. In the last year, Chinese authorities have fined billions of dollars to its tech titans, declared cryptocurrency services illegal, and enacted far-reaching new data privacy regulations. Video games have taken a beating. Children are not allowed to play video games for more than three hours per week, and state media refers to them as “spiritual opium.”
The reasons for the game’s cancellation in China are unknown. Epic Games was contacted for comment but did not respond immediately. Fortnite debuted in China in 2018, thanks to a collaboration between Epic Games and Chinese tech behemoth Tencent.
Even before the crackdown, Epic had to significantly alter Fortnite in order for Chinese gamers to be able to access it. All skulls, for example, have been removed from the game in accordance with Chinese cultural norms. The gameplay has also changed significantly: in the standard version, the last person standing wins. After 20 minutes, all surviving players in China “win.” Perhaps more noticeable is the message received by players who play for more than 180 minutes in a day:
“You have been playing for 3 hours, your exp rate has dropped 50%, challenges have been disabled, please take a rest immediately for your health, and please also arrange your studies/learning time.”