China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd has announced that it will not offer the test version of its best-selling video game ‘PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds’ (PUBG) in China, after having waited for almost a year to get regulatory approval. In November 2017, Tencent had said that it will bring the game to China after giving it a socialist makeover to meet stringent government rules.
The PUBG Mobile is a battle royale style game that allows you, along with 99 other players, to go against each other in a virtual fight.
The mobile version ‘PUBG Mobile’ is published by a subsidiary of South Korean firm Bluehole. Global game distributor Steam recently announced PUBG Mobile as one of its highest-grossing titles of 2018, and according to industry experts, Tencent could earn $1 billion in revenue if it’s allowed to monetise the game.
According to a Weibo post from Tencent, the testing phase for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds officially ends on May 8.
Tencent also announced ‘Game for Peace’ in a Weibo post, which has passed monetisation approval from Chinese authorities in April. According to analysts, ‘Game for Peace’ offers a tribute to China’s air force.
Mobile gaming has grown exponentially in China, especially titles like ‘Honor of Kings,’ making China the biggest player in the mobile gaming industry. But, concerns over mobile gaming addiction prompted the government to limit the number of new releases and introduce safeguards to reduce playing time for underage gamers.
Recently, authorities in Iraq, Nepal and the Indian state of Gujarat have requested to ban the PUBG Mobile game claiming it incites violence.
In India, Surat district administration was the first to ban PUBG Mobile claiming that it promotes violent behaviour in children.
