By Liam Mo and Casey Hall
BEIJING (Reuters) – Tencent is removing from Thursday its hit mobile game “Dungeon & Fighter” (DnF Mobile) from selected Android app stores as its contracts have expired, the company said.
Game developers in China have long had a contentious relationship with distributors over issues such as revenue sharing, as mobile games become increasingly popular in the broader game market.
In the case of partnerships between developers and Android app stores, the standard 50% revenue share split has often been a bone of contention.
Tencent, China’s largest game developer by revenue, did not specify which app stores would be affected. Local media outlet 21st Century Business Herald reported that the affected app stores include those of Huawei, Oppo and Vivo.
Tencent had a similar dispute in 2021 when Huawei removed several of its mobile games from the smartphone maker’s app store due to a dispute over revenue sharing.
(Reporting by Liam Mo and Casey Hall; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Miral Fahmy)