Here’s Why PUBG Mobile Has Been Banned in China This Week

Players have instead been asked to rely on a similar game called Heping Jingying or Elite Force for Peace.

In a rather interesting turn of events, Tencent from China has been asked by its government to take down PUBG Mobile from the country. This popular mobile game, which has been earning millions across the country, hasn’t been given the chance to make moolah in its domestic market.

This, according to a Reuters report has been done because Tencent failed to get the approval in China to monetise the game from its users and other avenues.

The licence needed to make money from games in China was denied by the government and instead of that, users will have to rely on another game called Heping Jingying or Elite Force for Peace.

This game, got the approval from the Communist Party, mostly because, according an analyst quoted in the report, it pays tribute to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force” — part of China’s national military — with anti-terrorism themes.

According to industry figures quoted in the report, Tencent has garnered over 70 million users on PUBG Mobile in China, and was hoping to make them pay for in-app purchases on the platform sometime soon. But the Chinese government seems to have derailed those plans for Tencent.

The creator of PUBG Mobile will be doing its best to convince users that Heping Jingying is not very different from the popular mobile game, with the same gameplay, background and even character sketches according to one analyst from IHS Markit quoted in the Reuters report.

It isn’t the first time when Tencent has been asked to remove a game in China on the grounds of violent content and unlikely to be the last one either.

PUBG Mobile has been popular, but it has faced its share of controversy as well. The app was banned in a few regions in India, when people were detained merely for playing it on their phones.

We all know that China works differently from other parts of the world, with every basic feature, product or even movie heavily scrutinised to keep its content policies and ideology in check.