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Tencent Appoints New Chairman to Huya

Published by

James Fudge

11 months ago

Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings has appointed Vice President Lin Songtao as the new chairman at its wholly-owned gaming-focused live streaming platform Huya, replacing Huang Lingdong, who held the post since April 2020.

Huang became chairman at Huya in 2020 following Tencent taking a controlling stake in Huya from Chinese social media platform operator JOYY.

Tencent said in an announcement Tuesday that this appointment will bring more synergy between Tencent’s gaming business and the live-streaming platform.

A report by South China Morning Post also suggests the change in guard at the live streaming platform may have been related to growing regulatory pressure from various Chinese government agencies, who have been scrutinizing Tencent’s live streaming platforms over various issues. Tencent also has a controlling interest in live streaming platform Douyu.

Tencent has minority stakes in some of the biggest game developers and publishers in the world including Overwatch and Call of Duty owner Activision Blizzard, Rainbow Six Siege developer and publisher Ubisoft, Apex Legends owner Electronic Arts, and Fortnite and Rocket League maker Epic Games. It also owns League of Legends and Valorant maker Riot Games.

James Fudge

With a career spanning over two decades in the esports and gaming journalism landscape, James Fudge stands as a seasoned veteran and a pivotal figure in the evolution of esports media. His journey began in 1997 at Game-Wire / Avault, where he curated gaming and community news, laying the groundwork for his expertise in the field. In his more recent roles, James cemented his status as an authority in the esports business sphere as Senior Editor Esports at Sports Business Journal and The Esports Observer between 2018 and 2021.