Tencent shuts down PUBG Mobile game in China, brings a new government-friendly alternative

In what could be bad news for PUBG fans, Chinese tech giant Tencent has pulled the plug on PUBG in its home country after failing to secure approval from the Chinese authorities to monetise the game. Meanwhile, Tencent has come up with a new title called ‘Game for Peace,’ which is a government-friendly PUBG alternative.

Recently, the Chinese government implemented some new set of gaming rules to crack down on games that promote poker and violence. Over the past year, the Chinese government is addressing concerns related to gaming addiction among children.

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Tencent offers a mobile version of PUBG called PUBG Mobile, which is published by a subsidiary of South Korean firm Bluehole. Tencent's testing for PUBG Mobile came to an end after it failed to win approval from Chinese authorities to offer it permanently.

Tencent gave up on PUBG game which has been targeted for bans across places. PUBG pits characters against one another in a virtual fight to the death and has become one of the world's most popular mobile games. Despite its popularity, Iraq and the Indian state of Gujarat have put restrictions on PUBG Mobile over fears that it incited violence.

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Although Game for Peace bears striking resemblance to PUBG, it fits into new criteria set by the Chinese game censorship body. Tencent has received the approval from Chinese authorities to monetise Game for Peace. Tencent directs PUBG players to Game for peace whose designers sought advice from China's air force in developing the game.

Game for Pece doesn't show blood and corpses. When players die, they wake up and wave goodbye for disappearing. The game is available for players aged 16 and above.

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Launched in March 2018, PUBG Mobile quickly became one of the world’s most popular video games. It was estimated that PUBG had roughly 70 million players in China, which would have allowed Tencent to generate annual revenues of roughly $1.18 billion to $1.48 billion through in-app purchases.

(With agency inputs)