In November, the Chinese government blocked Tencent from launching any new apps. This is because a regulator found that Tencent was violating user rights and data protection. Amidst the ban, people were still able to install existing apps, but any future updates or releases were under investigation. That ban has now been lifted.
As reported by the South China Morning Post, nine of Tencent's apps have resumed updating as the Chinese government are lifting restrictions. Tencent confirmed to SCMP that China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology gave the company the greenlight to resume updates in the app store, two examples being QQ Music and WeCom.
The former now lets you listen to music with a friend, a fairly significant update - the first since November. Other apps may get updates of their own but this lifting of restrictions comes with "temporary administrative guidance." Tencent is also, along with the authorities, reviewing its apps, one of which - WeChat - has a staggering 1.2 billion users. There's a lot at stake.
Despite the ban, Tencent has still been growing. Two of its mobile games - PUBG and Honor of Kings - grossed over $1 billion this year. It has also just acquired Back 4 Blood developer Turtle Rock Studios, the same team that worked on Left 4 Dead under Valve.
It has also acquired Riot Games, Sumo Digital, and more, while also holding shares in Epic Games, Activision Blizzard, Dontnod, and Ubisoft. Tencent has been quietly growing alongside some of the biggest gaming and tech companies in the world, but how these further regulations will impact it going forward remains to be seen.