Tencent Holdings has shut down its game-streaming platform, Penguin Esports, South China Morning Post reported.
The platform stopped all operations on June 7 and also removed its services from app stores.
The closure comes after Beijing’s move to block Tencent’s plan to merge its video game livestreaming platforms Douyu and Huya last July. Had the plan gone forward, Penguin Esports would have been integrated into the merged structure.
The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said the merger would have bolstered Tencent’s dominance in the video game streaming market, preventing fair competition.
The report said that analysts are viewing Penguin Esports’ closure as a step to reduce Tencent’s costs and cut its involvement in the competitive gaming sector.
In recent years, Chinese authorities have also slowed down the process of giving licenses to new games to curb gaming addiction among the youth.
Amid the regulatory crackdown, Tencent’s revenue in the first three months of 2022 failed to grow for the first time since it went public in 2004.
See also: Tencent’s gameplay in a sea of troubles
Editing by Samreen Ahmad and Joy Tirkey
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