US is reviewing Tencent’s stakes in Riot, Epic over security concerns

Esports Writer

Publish Date: March 6, 2026

Chinese conglomerate, Tencent, is reportedly under scrutiny from the United States government. According to recent reports, President Donald Trump’s cabinet is currently discussing whether Tencent’s holdings in US-based game developing studios could be harmful to the people of the country.

In 2025, Tencent was declared a Chinese military company by the US Department of Defense. Despite the Chinese conglomerate fiercely defending itself and even suggesting it would sue the US Department of Defense, the concerns seem to have lingered.

Tencent under the scanner in the US

Tencent is a massive player in the current gaming industry. It has significant holdings in many big Western developers like Epic, Ubisoft, Remedy, Supercell, and fully own Riot Games. Therefore, the company can be directly linked to massive titles like Fortnite, League of Legends, Clash of Clans, and more.

According to the President’s cabinet, a Chinese company having such significant stakes in US-based developers and games that are popular in North America could be a concern for the personal data security of US citizens.

Back in 2020, during President Trump’s first administration, the US government tried to take steps towards Tencent’s US game holdings for the first time. That negotiations were somewhat favorable towards Tencent as it was not forced to total divestment.

So far, Tencent has not made any official statement regarding this. However, according to sources, this topic was to be discussed by the US President Donald Trump and the Chinese President Xi Jinping in a meeting that was reportedly postponed due to conflicting schedules.

Currently, according to experts, the best solution for this issue is to follow the example set by TikTok’s US operations, which were partially divested to a new entity named “TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC,” which is backed by US-based investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX.

This way, the data of US citizens from massively popular games like League of Legends can be monitored, moderated, and protected by a US Joint Venture.