For the new year, the US government has updated its list of companies affiliated with the Chinese military. New on the list is Tencent, the parent company of the LoL creators Riot Games.
What happened? According to a report by Bloomberg (Paywall), the current US government has placed the parent company of the developers of League of Legends, Riot Games, on a blacklist for 2025:
The Notice of Availability of Designation of Chinese Military Companies
can be translated as Announcement of the Availability of the Designation of Chinese Military Companies
. This classifies Tencent as affiliated with the Chinese military.
After the announcement on January 6, 2025, Tencent’s stock price fell sharply. Currently, the price is down more than 10 points. At the time of this news, Tencent is facing a loss of over 376 million Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to over 468 million euros.
Riot Games is a subsidiary of Tencent. The developers recently released a new video for the new LoL season:
Millions in losses because a gaming company is said to be military
What kind of decision is this? The United States updates the list of companies they classify as affiliated with the Chinese military each year. Tencent is just one of the companies newly added for 2025.
The listing does not bring any specific sanctions. However, companies classified as affiliated with the Chinese military may be removed from American stock exchanges. According to PC Gamer, the list is also seen as a warning to American companies regarding investments and cooperation with the companies on the list. Tagesschau.de also reports that starting in 2026, the US Department of Defense will no longer be allowed to enter into contracts with companies on the list.
Gamespot indicates that companies on the list can contest the classification.
Value losses and damage to reputation – What could happen to Tencent
What does this mean for Tencent? Since Tencent is not listed on an American stock exchange but in Hong Kong, the listing will likely have mostly reputational effects. In addition, collaboration with American companies may become more difficult in the future.
Specifically, the listing has already led to the aforementioned rapid loss in stock price: On January 7, 2025, Tencent’s stock was priced at 408.60 Hong Kong dollars per share and has since fallen to 369.20 HKD. The price difference per share is 39.40 HKD, resulting in a loss of 3,760,973,807.20 HKD (approximately 468,598,155.41 euros) based on 95,456,188 shares.
Poor business prospects could affect Tencent’s financial planning and funding for its own projects as well as those of its subsidiaries. These subsidiaries include Riot Games, which recently reportedly suffered a financial flop
with the LoL series Arcane. Another subsidiary is Lightspeed Studios, which is currently working on a mobile version of the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV.
Whether and how exactly the current developments will affect Tencent is still uncertain. A spokesperson called the listing a Gamespot mistake in a statement:
Listing Tencent on this list is clearly a mistake. We are not a military company or supplier. Unlike sanctions or export controls, this list does not affect our business. However, we will work with the Department of Defense to clear up any misunderstandings.
Tencent is likely to contest the listing. How things will proceed until then is still open.
Meanwhile, League of Legends is currently launching its new and first season in 2025. The current motto is Welcome to Noxus
. Players can look forward to new skins, a new look for the Summoner’s Rift map, and new gameplay mechanics. All the details: LoL: The new season starts today – What changes are there?
