Tencent can't access international Clash of Clans player data, mobile giant Supercell says

Mobile titan Supercell reveals key details about its agreements with Tencent as the United States probes the Chinese company's dealings in the video game industry.

2

The US is taking aim at Chinese entertainment giant Tencent, and is seeking specific details on the myriad of minority and majority stakes in the gaming market. The pretext for the scrutiny is national security, as was the case with ByteDance's ownership of TikTok (which has since been spun out as a joint venture).

As we've covered multiple times on TweakTown, Tencent is one of the biggest video game groups in the world, having achieved this feat through a multitude of carefully-curated investments. Tencent has varying stakes and ownerships in some of gaming's largest players, including Epic Games (28%)--whose game is routinely in the top 5 best-earning video games on an annual basis for multiple years running--as well as Clash of Clans creator Supercell (majority ownership), and Riot Games (full ownership).

It's now been reported that Finnish mobile game developer Supercell is complying with the United States' inquiry, revealing key details on its majority ownership model with Tencent.

According to reports from Bloomberg's Cecilia D'Anastasio, Supercell has asserted to US investigators that Tencent simply does not have access to any Clash of Clans player data outside of China. Essentially, Supercell operates as an independent entity as per the private shareholder agreement that the company signed with Tencent.

It remains unclear whether or not this will be the norm for all, or even most, of the companies aligned with Tencent, however specifics on the wholly-owned Riot Games, which operates in Los Angeles, California, have been revealed so far.