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Two Epic directors step down following DOJ antitrust investigation

Two Epic directors step down following DOJ antitrust investigation

Chinese tech and entertainment giant Tencent has removed two directors from Epic Games' board following a US Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into antitrust laws. 

In a press release from the government body, the DOJ said that the board members had violated Section 8 of the Clayton Act. This stipulates that a director cannot be be on the board of two competing companies, in this case Epic and Tencent. 

As a result of the findings of this investigation, Tencent has made changes to its shareholder agreement with Epic Games, giving up its right to appoint directors to the Fortnite firm's board. 

“Scrutiny around interlocking directorates continues to be an enforcement priority for the Antitrust Division,” Miriam R. Vishio, deputy director of civil enforcement at the DOJ's antitrust arm. 

“Due to the hard work of our tremendous staff, our increased enforcement around Section 8 over the last few years has achieved substantial results and become part of our fabric.”


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PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.