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People play computer games at an internet cafe in Fuyang, China’s Anhui province.
Lu Qijian | Visual China Group | Getty Images

LONDON – After decades of the U.S. and Japan dominating the gaming space, China’s influence is growing as its tech giants snap up gaming studios around the world.

Now, some experts think video games could look a little different in the coming years as a result.

Questions are being asked about whether the Chinese owners of U.S. and European studios will try to influence the games they make, or indeed use them to promote Chinese values. It remains to be seen but subtle changes could happen in the coming years, according to some experts.

“Some of these values might be different from what many expect,” British-Chinese writer Lu-Hai Liang told CNBC. “For example, Chinese female gamers are a massive market (500 million) and there have been many female-focused games and game studios that revel in this sector.”

Thomas David, a semiconductor engineer in the U.S., told CNBC that he thinks gamers could start to see more titles where the “good guy” is Chinese and the “bad guy” is from the West, for example.

China’s own gaming market is heavily regulated. It does not allow games that contain certain political views, gambling, gore, nudity and many other things to be released and sold in its home market. The movie industry is equally strict, with U.S. films having to be adapted before they can be released in China.

Exporting Chinese culture

“This area — how China could use games to export its culture — is incredibly important and largely missed,” Abishur Prakash, co-founder of the Center for Innovating the Future, told CNBC.

“China has several ways it can take its ideals to the world through games, and build a new kind of global power,” said Prakash. “One way is by banning certain topics, like Taiwan or human rights, from being discussed,” he said.

China could also establish “new centers within games that help showcase China’s power,” or use games to build its financial and commercial power, he said. “The next Chinese games might only allow users to purchase items in digital Yuan,” said Prakash. “Or, the Chinese games might have Chinese platforms, like TikTok, embedded into them.”

Others doubt that Chinese owners of Western gaming studios will try to change the games that get sold in the West.

“I would be very skeptical of something like that happening,” Louise Shorthouse, a senior games analyst at Ampere Analysis, told CNBC.

Steven Bailey, principal analyst at Omida, told CNBC that “Chinese companies have had involvement in various Western game companies and content for quite some time, and understand that successfully making games for the West will not be supported by such changes.”

He added: “Conversely, anyone releasing a game in China will need to adapt it for that market.”

Tencent’s sprawling investments

Tencent and NetEase have been snapping up stakes in gaming firms beyond China’s borders for years with little opposition.

“Tencent keeps buying the #1 game in every niche in North America and Europe,” wrote tech investor Rodolfo Rosini on Twitter in February. “This is important because games have cultural influence. And controlling the present and how reality is portrayed is very powerful.”

“If Tencent were to buy a stake in every leading newspaper and TV company people would be up in arms, there would be political hearings etc,” he added. “Instead they play the long game and they are buying the next generation’s media properties without any competition.”

For years, Hollywood has spread American values around the world and championed the country’s military might. Now it could be China’s turn to try to do the same, but through video games. However, while Hollywood often criticizes the U.S. and the actions of Washington D.C., China’s tech giants would not be able to say a bad word against Beijing, which exercises great control over all of its domestic enterprises.

China has more gamers than any other country, making it a highly lucrative market for those that can get in. One of the reasons that U.S. and European gaming firms take investment from Chinese companies is that they’re legally obliged to partner with a Chinese company before their game can be released in the country.

U.K.-headquartered Sumo became the latest gaming firm to sell to a Chinese tech behemoth on Monday, announcing a $1.26 billion deal with Tencent, which is the world’s largest video game publisher.

Neither company immediately responded when CNBC asked how, or indeed if, Tencent will influence the games that Sumo works on.

But Tencent has traditionally taken a hands off approach to its investments and acquisitions, according to Daniel Ahmad, senior analyst at Niko Partners.

“The company could also be an invaluable partner for Tencent as it looks to push into the AAA game space itself with its own projects,” said Ahmad.

“The deal would also help Sumo utilize Tencent’s expertise in regard to games development and publishing within China,” he added.  

“Chinese game studios are looking to grow overseas and while organic growth is one option, acquisition allows these companies to build a presence much faster and with local talent,” said Ahmad.

Tencent also invested $150 million in Reddit in 2019, angering some Reddit users in the process who were concerned that the platform may experience more censorship. However, this does not appear to have happened in any significant way.

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CNBC Daily Open: SoftBank goes all in on OpenAI as ‘Big Short’ investor issues caution on AI firms

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November 12, 2025

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CNBC Daily Open: SoftBank goes all in on OpenAI as 'Big Short' investor issues caution on AI firms

Jensen Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., left, and Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group Corp., during a fireside chat at the Nvidia AI Summit Japan in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024.

Akio Kon | Bloomberg | Getty Images

SoftBank is selling its entire stake in Nvidia — but not for the reasons you might think.

In its earnings statement released Tuesday, the Japanese group said that it had sold 32.1 million Nvidia shares in October for $5.83 billion.

At first blush, this could be read as a sign that Nvidia’s high valuations are causing SoftBank some unease. And if SoftBank — which infamously pumped $18.5 billion into WeWork only to value it at $2.9 billion eventually — is tamping down on its usual optimism regarding its investments, then retail traders should probably pay attention.

Adding to such worries are comments by Michael Burry — who bet against subprime mortgages before they caused a whole financial crisis in 2008 — on major artificial intelligence companies.

Burry wrote Monday in a post on X that those firms are “understating depreciation” of AI chips, which “artificially boosts earnings — one of the more common frauds of the modern era.”  CNBC could not independently confirm that companies were practicing this.

This doesn’t seem to be SoftBank’s concern, however. A person familiar with the group’s sale told CNBC that it had nothing to do with AI valuations. On the contrary, cash from offloading Nvidia chips will be redirected to SoftBank’s $22.5 billion investment in OpenAI, the person said.

Burry said in his post that he will reveal “more details” on Nov. 25, and exhorted readers to “stay tuned.” That might not be enough enticement for SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son.

— CNBC’s Yun Li, April Roach and Dylan Butts contributed to this report.

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Singapore sees further cooperation between ASEAN and EU on digital economy, deputy PM says

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November 12, 2025

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Singapore sees further cooperation between ASEAN and EU on digital economy, deputy PM says

Gan Kim Yong, Singapore’s deputy prime minister, during a panel session, at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025.  

Stefan Wermuth | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Despite rising trade tensions, Singapore still wants to push ahead with a “multilateral, rules-based trading system,” and sees further cooperation between ASEAN and the European Union.

This was according to Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who spoke at the Singapore Fintech Festival on Wednesday.

Gan, who is also Singapore’s minister for trade and industry, said in a fireside chat with DBS CEO Tan Su Shan that “if we are able to bring both EU and ASEAN together to discuss a digital economic agreement between EU and ASEAN, I think there will be a major breakthrough.”

He also added, “EU will not be part of ASEAN. ASEAN will not be part of EU, but it doesn’t stop [the] EU and ASEAN [to] come together to discuss areas that we can work together.”

Gan did say however, that this will take time, and the two sides will first discuss a digital economic collaboration, “how we can set out basic rules, and then consider next steps.”

Southeast Asia’s digital economy stands at over $300 billion in 2025 in gross merchandise value, according to the 2025 Google e-Conomy SEA report.

He said he hoped that ASEAN will have a digital economy agreement with the EU, as well as for the Southeast Asian bloc to work with the Gulf Cooperation Council and the CPTPP to find ways to facilitate trade investment.

The CPTPP refers to the 11-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership that was formed after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in his first term.

“So I think there are a lot of opportunities still, despite the headwinds and the uncertainties we are seeing.”

Separately, Gan also said that Singapore would like to work with partners to think about how the World Trade Organisation can be transformed.

“WTO is still [an] important foundation for this rules-based trading system,” he said.

“We will need to transform because the current design architecture of WTO may no longer be workable, and it’s important for us to come together to discuss what is the way forward, what are the areas that require transformation,” Gan added.

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Nvidia supplier Foxconn third-quarter profit beats expectations, rising 17% on AI demand

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November 12, 2025

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Nvidia supplier Foxconn third-quarter profit beats expectations, rising 17% on AI demand

Foxconn Chairman Young Liu delivers a speech during the Hon Hai Tech Day in Taipei on Oct. 18, 2023.

I-hwa Cheng | AFP | Getty Images

Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, said Wednesday that its third-quarter profit jumped 17% from a year earlier, driven by growth in its artificial intelligence server business.

Here’s how Foxconn did in the September quarter compared with LSEG SmartEstimates, which are weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate:

  • Revenue: $2.06 trillion New Taiwan dollars ($66.29 billion) vs. NT$2.06 trillion expected
  • Net profit: NT$57.67 billion vs. NT$50.41 billion

Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, is best known as the world’s largest manufacturer of Apple‘s iPhones, but has been shifting into other business avenues, including AI. The firm manufactures server racks designed for AI workloads and has become a key partner to American AI chip darling Nvidia.

The company said it expects operations in the second half of the year — the traditional peak season — to maintain continuous quarterly growth, citing stronger AI server shipments and rising demand for information and communications technology products.

However, Foxconn cautioned that global political and economic uncertainty, along with exchange rate fluctuations, will require continued close monitoring.

Foxconn reported that its ‘Cloud and Networking’ segment saw strong year-on-year growth, supported by demand for AI server racks.

Foxconn’s server manufacturing business is currently in a strong growth phase, underpinned by robust demand, Ivan Lam, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC.

The company is leveraging its dominance in contract manufacturing to secure both current and future orders, Lam said, describing it as a clear case of “follow the cash” strategy that involves sacrificing some consumer electronics orders.

He added that Foxconn’s pivot toward high-growth server manufacturing “is clearly paying off,” even as it trades parts of its consumer electronics footprint for longer-term momentum.

While component price volatility, currency swings, and logistics challenges can pressure margins, Lam said he expects Foxconn’s fourth-quarter results to “remain favorable.”

The electronics contract manufacturer also said it is partnering with Nvidia, Stellantis and Uber to build so-called “Level 4” autonomous vehicles, which doesn’t require a safety driver to be present.

Recently, Foxconn signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Electric on Nov. 6 to jointly supply energy-efficient AI data center solutions globally. Besides AI data centers, Foxconn and Mitsubishi Electric plan to explore additional new business models and solutions using their combined technological and knowledge capabilities.

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