Tencent replaces blockbuster ‘PUBG Mobile’ with more compliant ‘Game for Peace’ game

Tencent shut down its blockbuster mobile game ‘PUBG Mobile’ in China, replacing it with an anti-terrorist game named “和平精英” or ‘Game for Peace’.

PUBG Mobile became worldwide phenomenon, with 200 million users and about 30 million active daily users. According to analytics firm Sensor Tower, the mobile game generated more than USD 65 million in March outside China. However, Tencent has been unable to bring in any revenue in its home country China due to lack of an approval form the State Administration of Press and Publication.

In a move to access this untapped market, Tencent replaced it with ‘Game for Peace’, which has received monetization approval in April. It is also the month which Tencent’s approval titles dropped from 170 in March to just 40.

‘Game for Peace’ is promoted as a ‘military skills competition game’. The game enlisted to the help of the nation’s air force recruitment centre and touted as tribute to warriors who are protecting the territorial air space of China. There is even a recruitment notice for the nation’s air force on the game’s loading screen.