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A version of Battle Royale shooter Fortnite specifically made for China is to close down after three years.
As reported by Kotaku, users were met with an official announcement of the closure on the game’s website. Player registrations were disabled yesterday, leaving new users unable to sign up for a new account. As of Monday November 15 the servers will be switched off for good, and Chinese players won’t be able to connect to the game.
The Fortnite Wiki notes that the Chinese version of Fortnite was much different to the one we know in the West. For example, the depiction of skulls is illegal in the country, so many cosmetics that feature them are heavily altered. Other outfits still are removed altogether. Games also have a hard 20 minute time limit, with all remaining players granted a victory if a lone victor isn’t achieved in that time.
Of course, reasons for these changes can largely be attributed to China’s many strict gaming and internet laws. There’s been no reason given as to why the game is now being shut down altogether, however. It’s believed a factor may be a major crackdown by the Chinese government in recent months on online gaming. Back in August, they restricted online gaming for under 18s to just three hours per week. (As per The Verge)
