New York (CNN Business) Fortnite maker Epic Games said it would allow its esports players to express political beliefs in support of Hong Kong democracy protesters, despite its partial ownership by Chinese tech giant Tencent.

Responding to Twitter users Wednesday, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said if a famous Twitch streamer like Tfue or Ninja hypothetically shouted "Free Hong Kong," there would be no repercussions from Epic. "That will never happen on my watch as the founder, CEO and controlling shareholder," he tweeted.

"Epic supports everyone's right to speak freely," he tweeted. "China players of Fortnite are free to criticize the US or criticize Epic just as equally as all others."

Twitter users were quick to point out that Tencent owns about 40% of Epic Games' shares, but Sweeney added, "Epic is a US company and I'm the controlling shareholder."

from competing for the next year. Its rival Activision Blizzard received flak from gamers around the world after it disqualified and banned a "Hearthstone" player for shouting a popular Hong Kong protest slogan. On Tuesday, Blizzard said player Ng "Blitzchung" Wai Chung violated competition rules when he shouted "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" during a livestreamed post-match interview. Ng was stripped of his potential winnings and bannedfrom competing for the next year.

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