Two directors from Epic Games and Tencent resign amid antitrust investigations | Entertainment News

The U.S. Department of Justice raised concerns that the positions of directors on two corporate boards violated the Clayton Act.

Two directors of Fortnite developer Epic Games appointed by Chinese technology company Tencent Holdings have resigned from their positions amid an antitrust investigation in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement on Wednesday that it had “expressed concerns” that the positions of directors on both Epic and Tencent’s boards violated the Clayton Act as Tencent owned Riot Games, a Los Angeles-based video game , owns developer and e-sports organizer.

Section 8 of the Clayton Act “prohibits directors and officers from serving concurrently on the boards of directors of competitors, with limited exceptions,” according to the Justice Department.

“Examining interlocking directorates continues to be an enforcement priority for the Antitrust Division,” said Miriam R. Vishio, deputy director for civil enforcement for the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.

Epic Games and the US Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment. Tencent declined to comment.

Beyond Fortnite, Epic Games is also known as the developer of Unreal Engine, a groundbreaking 3D video game engine.

North Carolina-based Epic Games is privately held, but Tencent also holds a minority stake in the company, in addition to its “equity interests” in other video game and media companies, according to the Justice Department.

Other Epic Games investors include Sony, Disney, Fidelity and BlackRock.

Tencent, one of the world’s largest multimedia companies, is incorporated and based in the Cayman Islands but is headquartered in Shenzhen, China.

The Justice Department’s statement made no mention of national security concerns regarding Tencent or its Chinese ownership, in contrast to the U.S. government’s approach to other Chinese tech companies such as ByteDance, which owns the social media platform TikTok.

The video-sharing app is set to be banned in the US from January 19 if its Chinese owner ByteDance does not sell the platform.

After the investigation, Tencent decided to “amend its shareholder agreement with Epic to waive its unilateral right to appoint future directors or observers to Epic’s board,” according to the Justice Department.

The statement also said that despite the resignation of the two unnamed directors, “no company or individual has admitted any liability in connection with this investigation.”