Concerns From The US Justice Department Result In Two Tencent Directors Stepping Down From Epic Games Board

Recently, the US Justice Department expressed concerns that an anti-trust law, specifically Section 8 of the Clayton Act, was being violated by two Tencent directors holding positions on both their and Epic Games’ boards. According to the law, directors and officers shouldn’t serve on the boards of competing companies – in this case, Epic and Riot Games which is owned by Tencent.

Apparently, to avoid further scrutiny from the agency, Tencent, which owns shares in Epic Games, revised their agreement, relinquishing its “unilateral right to appoint directors or observers”. This change does not mean that Tencent is giving up its shares in Epic Games, however. Nor are these the only companies that Tencent has invested in in some way. As the announcement from the Justice Department notes, “Tencent is one of the largest multimedia and video game companies in the world.” It’s not unlikely other conflicts will come up in the future.