Gaming giant Tencent has secured the rights to operate PUBG in China after partnering with game developer Bluehole.
In doing so, Tencent has endeavoured to curb cheating and ensure the game does not get shut down by the Chinese government, following reports that the game was “too bloody” and counter to “traditional socialist core values” as reported by VentureBeat last month.
The popularity of PLAYERUNKNOWN’s Battlegrounds has been well documented, with the game having sold over 20,000,000 copies despite being in early access. The game’s popularity is not limited to the West, and it’s already very popular in China although one glance at the leaderboards goes to tell a story regarding the rampant cheating problem.
Tencent will work with developer Bluehole to ensure the game is compliant with local regulation and it doesn’t face risk of a ban. It’s also well known that Tencent takes cheating very seriously and has developed fantastic anti-cheat software in the past so one would assume that will also be at the forefront of the company’s minds.
Last weekend saw the second large scale PUBG LAN take place, with IEM Oakland hosting 20 squads as they battled it out for $200,000. Again the weekend went to show that the game still has a long way to go before it truly breaks into the upper echelons of the esports ranks, but it will give both Bluehole and ESL a great deal of optimism moving forward.
Esports Insider says: Another big deal for Tencent amidst continued rumours they’re lining up a takeover bid for Bluehole. If they can curb the rampant cheating in China that will be a huge step towards ensuring the continued success of the game title.