Tech giant Tencent has announced an official shutdown of its mobile app, WeGame, due to a "business strategy adjustment." Gamers use the app worldwide to check video game updates and battle records, as well as a voice chat and live streaming platform.
First reported by South China Morning Post, Tencent has made it known that as of Jul 5, 2022, the app will no longer be taking on new users. On July 15, 2022, the game will no longer be available on the app store to download. Tencent also recently announced the shutdown of their streaming platform, Penguin eSports, earlier this year in June after the Chinese government decided against a merge Tencent had planned with Huya and DouYu. If this merge had gone through, Penguin eSports would have made up about 80% of the game streaming market in China, which is a substantial amount of ownership in the industry.
The Tencent Gaming Platform was rebranded as WeGame as part of a renewed focus on it as Tencent's Gaming platform both in and outside of their WeChat App on mobile. Later down the line, Tencent announced they were planning to open up a WeGame PC storefront sometime in 2018 after discovering that Steam would be making its way to China. Once the WeGame app is officially retired, Tencent has stated that some of the features of the app will then be implemented into the PC version of WeGame, rather than all of the content being lost in the ether completely. The WeGame app also has an in-app version of WeChat, one of the largest messaging platforms in China, and it will also be killed off during this shutdown.
It's worth mentioning that the PC version of the WeGame app, an upgraded version of Tencent Gaming Platform (TGP), will not be affected by the shutdown. The Steam-like service is a gaming staple in China and hosts a vast selection of games, hosts, and services. The PC version of WeGame has over 200 million users to date. It was notable for its role in bringing over Monster Hunter: World in 2018 to China. For reference, Steam in the US has 125 million users, making the PC version of the mobile app one of the largest gaming platforms on the market today. What the future holds for the PC version of WeGame is uncertain, as it is possible Tencent is getting out of the platform business but we'll have to wait and see.