Tencent closes Mobile PUBG in China for a patriotic alternative

Technology giant Tencent has abandoned the popular mobile version of Battlefields of PlayerUnknown in China after failing to obtain a government license to collect gambling revenue.

Instead, the company migrates users to a similar title, Heping Jingying or Elite force for peace, reports Reuters and the Financial Times. Heping Jingying has already been approved for monetization by the Chinese Communist Party, largely thanks to its patriotic connotations. One analyst described the game as "a tribute to the People's Liberation Army Air Force", part of the Chinese National Army, on anti-terrorism issues.

PUBG Mobile launched last March and has become one of the most popular video games in the world, with as many players as players Fortnite. According to estimates by China Renaissance, the game had about 70 million domestic players, which would have allowed Tencent to generate annual revenue of about $ 1.18 billion to $ 1.48 billion through integrated purchases .

However, a whole series of political and cultural factors seem to have condemned this title. In recent years, the Chinese government has become particularly hostile to video games perceived as violent or addictive. Daily People An article describing Tencent's mobile hit Honor of kings as "poison" that spreads "negative energy".

Photo by Anthony Kwan / Getty Images for Hong Kong Tourism Board

Tencent has already stopped a game because of this hostility and is making accommodation in new titles. Not only Heping Jingying patriotic, but it's less violent than PUBG. The characters do not bleed when they are touched and only those 16 and older can play.

Geopolitics could also have contributed to PUBG MobileThe rejection. Tencent grants a license to use the game to the South Korean company Bluehole and the Chinese authorities may be hostile to South Korean products. In 2017, Beijing launched a boycott of South Korea's goods and services after the country accepted the installation of the US THAAD missile defense system along its border with North Korea.

For Chinese players, however, the disruption should be minimal. Tencent allows users to wear characters from PUBG Mobile at Heping Jingying, and an analyst said Reuters that the new game was incredibly similar to the old title.

"The gameplay, the background, the graphics and the characters are pretty much the same," said Cui Chenyu, Game Analyst at IHS Markit.