Chinese government blocks Twitch

The Chinese government has blocked game streaming service Twitch. The site is reportedly unreachable from the country and the app for iOS has disappeared from the App Store. It is unknown why that is.

The blockade follows Twitch’s increased popularity due to the recent Asian Games, Abacus reports. The Chinese government appears to be blocking Western services as they rise in popularity to avoid controversy, The Verge reports. There seems to be no other substantive reason for the blockade.

The game streaming service suddenly became popular in China in recent weeks due to the Asian Games, where Chinese e-athletes did well. The performance of the Chinese has been untraceable through mainstream Chinese media, leading many fans in the country to turn to Twitch to follow matches.

In addition to the site, Apple has also removed the Twitch app from the Chinese version of the App Store. It is unknown if and when the game streaming service might work again in China. Twitch, an Amazon service, will not comment further on the blockade.