The owner of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) has cut ties with Chinese tech giant Tencent in India after the country banned 118 Chinese apps, including international hit PUBG Mobile.
Why it matters: While most of the apps banned last week don’t have a huge user base in India, PUBG Mobile had more than 50 million players in India as of April 2019. PUBG Corporation, which develops and publishes the original PC/console game, is a South Korean company, but it partnered with Tencent to bring the game to mobile. The move to cut ties with Tencent is an attempt to lift the ban on the game.
Details: PUBG Corporation said in a statement Tuesday that it would no longer license the PUBG Mobile franchise to Tencent Games in India, CNBC reported.
- The company said it would take on all publishing responsibilities within India.
- “As the company explores ways to provide its own PUBG experience for India in the near future, it is committed to doing so by sustaining a localized and healthy gameplay environment for its fans,” said the PUBG Corporation.
Context: Last week’s ban followed a standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in the same week. In June, India banned 59 Chinese apps, including Bytedance’s Tiktok and Tencent’s Wechat, on national security concerns following a deadly border clash with China.
- PUBG Corporation is owned by South Korean video game studio Bluehole. In 2018, Tencent acquired a 10% stake in Bluehole, becoming its second-largest shareholder.
