Investing.com - China’s internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700) saw its market value plummeted by $15 billion on Tuesday, as regulators banned the sale of its blockbuster video game Monster Hunter: World, Reuters reported.
The game was being taken down from Tencent’s download service just days after its launch on Aug. 8 as regulators received a large number of complaints about the game that was sold over 8 million copies worldwide, Tencent said in statement, although it did not provide details of what the complaints entailed.
The company had pre-sold over a million copies at around $43 a unit, Reuters added. WeGame, the platform where the game was launched, said it would refund users “without conditions.”
Citing source close to Wegame, the Financial Times reported that the removal was not due to complaints from user, but because of “bureaucratic infighting”.
Video games accounted for over 40% of the company’s revenue in 2017, according to its earnings statement, which mostly came from games on mobile phones.