Tencent Agrees Exclusive Distribution Deal with Bluehole For Playerunknown's Battlegrounds in China
Dou Shicong
DATE:  Nov 22 2017
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Tencent Agrees Exclusive Distribution Deal with Bluehole For Playerunknown's Battlegrounds in China Tencent Agrees Exclusive Distribution Deal with Bluehole For Playerunknown's Battlegrounds in China

(Yicai Global) Nov. 22 -- Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. [HK:0700] has formed a partnership with Korean games developer Bluehole Inc., and will become the sole distributor for the latter's vastly popular online multiplayer game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) in China, the company said through its official Wechat account today.

Tencent will provide technical support for the game including network optimization, server expansion and anti-cheat programs.

The firm did not mention when the game will get a release in the country but said that more details would follow soon.

More than 20 million copies of PUBG have been sold worldwide since the game's debut on digital distribution platform Steam in March. The game received a number of international awards including the British Golden Joystick Awards (personal computer games category), known as the Oscars for the gaming industry. 

Chinese players represent 40.27 percent of PUBG's total global sales, Steam data show, while 49.28 percent the total active users are Chinese, by far outstripping the US and South Korea, which represent the second and third largest userbases, respectively.

Tencent's share price rose to an all-time high of HKD439 after a three-day winning streak, swelling the firm's capitalization to over USD512 billion (HKD4 trillion). The firm subsequently supplanted Facebook Inc. [NASDAQ:FB] as the world's fifth largest company by market cap. Its stock was trading 1.07 percent lower at HKD425.4 per share at the time of press. 

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Keywords:   TENCENT,Playerunknown's Battlegrounds,Steam,Golden Joystick Awards,Facebook