Amazon's relationship with China could be getting somewhat bitter, as the country has now banned Twitch, the game streaming service acquired by the online retailer back in 2014. According to a report by CNN, the ban has been confirmed by a spokesperson at Twitch, but neither the company nor the Chinese administration have commented on the events.
China is no stranger to blocking communications with the outside world in a number of ways. Late last year, Microsoft's Skype also fell victim to the country's policies, and many other services have been met with similar situations. The ban on Twitch comes after the service saw a rapid spike in the number of users in time for the Asian Games last month, which featured e-sports for the first time.
In late August, tech website Abacus reported that China's television networks didn't cover the newly-added component of the competition, and fans rushed to Amazon's platform to tune in to the events. Downloads for the iOS app - which has now been removed from the App Store in the country - skyrocketed, making it the third most popular free app on the platform. While there's no confirmation that this is the reason for the ban, the timing is somewhat suspicious.
Given China's usual attitude towards foreign communication services, it's not uncommon for companies to strike some sort of deal in order to stay active in the country. For now, however, Twitch remains unavailable to Chinese users.
Source: CNN via Windows Central
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