Since its release 4 years ago, the game Fortnite has become one of the most popular games in the world, even without great support from China, which has the most populous population in the world.
This is not because no one is interested in the game Fortnite but because there is a huge difference in the version of the game compared to the rest of the world. Where the version is in China, Epic Games cannot monetize the game in the same way as they do in other countries because they have to comply with legal regulations in China.
Currently Fortnite is set to disappear from China completely with registrations for new accounts ceasing on November 1st and servers closing down completely on November 15th, 2021.
Fortnite earns a lot of revenue through microtransactions, which is prohibited by the Chinese government. This makes it difficult for Epic Games to profit from games in the region.
Fortnite relies heavily on players buying skins and cosmetics by converting real money into V-bucks which they can then use to buy these items. Many of these skins are also censored, causing them to look different from other versions.
Fortnite was banned from China completely in 2018, when the game was at the height of its popularity due to many of the same censorship laws. This means Epic Games is losing a lot of potential players.
One of the strangest differences in the Chinese version of the game that might turn a lot of players away is that there can be multiple winners in a single game.
This is because Fortnite was changed to better accommodate Chinese values. If the player lasts more than 20 minutes, they will be crowned the winner.
With the Chinese servers now set to shut down on November 15th, it makes one wonder how many players will actually be disappointed. Chinese law causes games to be censored and altered in such a way that the core gameplay loop is not the same as the rest of the world, which gives Epic Games a very slim chance of succeeding and financially benefiting from gaming in the region.
While the rest of the world will be looking forward to the new Fortnite skin, the Chinese market will say goodbye to Fortnite completely.