PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is, like the rest of the world, extremely popular in China. However, it still hasn't officially been released in the Chinese market. Now media giant Tencent has won the exclusive rights to operate PUBG in China - but it comes with a catch, as the game will be "modified" to get past the strict Chinese censors.
Looking For The Latest PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Patch Notes? Look No Further
The Chinese censors of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film & Television have condemned Battlegrounds regularly, calling it "excessively violent" and that it "deviates from the socialist core values, traditional Chinese culture and moral norms."
For changes, Tencent will have to modify the game a lot, echoing the censor's concerns that with any changes they will "make sure they accord with socialist core values, Chinese traditional culture and moral rules." Oh, and it will also need to offer "healthy, positive cultural and value guidance, especially for underage users".
Which is a lot to ask for a game where people fight in a Battle Royale arena to the death. China is very strict on censorship, particularly in regard to videogames, so we're frankly amazed it hasn't been banned outright - but then again it makes a lot of money, so better to regulate it than ban it we suppose.
Did you know that China has a Terminator 2 branded PUBG knockoff for mobiles? Well, it does, and that's how big PUBG is in China. Don't judge too harshly, we've got our own free-to-play knock-off too and that's also doing well.
