China Telecom gains Xbox One exclusivity

China Telecom will be the exclusive carrier of Microsoft Corp's video game console Xbox One, the first of its kind to launch in the Chinese mainland this autumn, the Chinese operator announced on Thursday.

The console will be sold in China Telecom's sales outlets from September, the state-owned telecom firm announced at a press conference.

China lifted a 14-year-old ban to permit foreign-invested companies to make game consoles in the Shanghai pilot Free Trade Zone in September 2013, spearheaded by a game-industry joint venture between Chinese Internet television company BesTV and Microsoft with investment of about 80 million U.S. dollars.

On Thursday, BesTV CEO Tao Mingcheng said the version of Xbox One sold in the mainland will target family users in the mid- to high-end market and will be a "popular, mainstream product".

As of April, more than 5 million Xbox One consoles were sold in 13 countries since it was launched in November, according to Microsoft data.