Tencent to shut down its game streaming service Penguin Esports by June

Tencent, the world’s largest video game firm, has announced that its game broadcasting site Penguin Esports will close by June,
Tencent already owns China’s two largest game streaming sites, Douyu and Huya, through prior acquisitions. According to China’s market regulator in July, the two providers together controlled more than 70% of the game streaming industry in China.
Penguin Esports was probably shut down owing to a number of issues. Bilibili, a popular user-generated video streaming service, and Kuaishou, a short video app (TikTok’s Chinese equivalent), are two of the platform’s biggest competitors.
Bilibili and Kuaishou, with market capitalizations of $10 billion and $40 billion, respectively, have been substantially investing in live hosts and exclusive streaming rights. Furthermore, China’s prolonged gaming license freeze has heightened competitiveness across platforms, as hosts run out of topics to discuss.
Finally, Tencent considers Penguin Esports redundant due to Douyu and Huya’s combined monopolistic position. Tencent also holds a stake in both Bilibili and Kuaishou, which should not be overlooked.
Penguin Esports’ demise will be mourned by loyal users, and some department staff may be laid off. However, by shutting down the platform, Tencent stands to lose very little.
The more serious blow for Tencent may be Beijing’s decision to prohibit the proposed combination of Douyu and Huya in August 2020. The decision didn’t come as a surprise, given the Chinese government’s extensive efforts to curb the power of internet behemoths.
The prospective merger would “eliminate or restrict competition,” to the authorities. “It’s not favourable to  healthy and long-term growth of the online gaming and game streaming sectors.”