Chinese ‘PUBG’ Earns $14M In Just 3 Days

It’s been only a few days since Tencent took down “PUBG” in China and replaced it with “Game for Peace,” but the results are very interesting. Reports say the tech company has earned more than $14 million in just a few days after the game was launched.

“PUBG” players in China were shocked when the popular battle royale title was taken down, but were surprised when a less gore-y alternative took its place. The International Business Times previously reported that this title, “Game for Peace,” promotes the country’s air force and features some socialist content.

Despite being a lightened and hilarious replacement, “Game for Peace” brought huge revenues for Tencent, which had difficulties making money from “PUBG.” According to Sensor Tower, “Game for Peace” earned more than $14M within 72 hours. It also became the most downloaded battle royale title on iOS during the same period of time.

The total amount “Game for Peace” earned in just three days easily surpasses the total amount “PUBG” earned during the same period of time in areas where its microtransactions and purchases are allowed. It is estimated that the Chinese replacement earned six times the original title earned at $2.2 million.

Major changes

The Chinese government is currently on a campaign to monitor the content offered by online games. Previous reports say this crackdown is meant to rid games of content featuring violence, sex and gambling, and is meant to reduce the time minors spend on video games.

Tencent had already spent more than a year working on a localised version of “PUBG,” and has tweaked its aesthetics and violent content in order to gain approval from the Chinese government. Sadly, the government didn’t approve the game as its in-app microtransactions still involved war-based content.

The tech company, unable to gain approval and earn revenue from the globally popular title, took the game down and introduced the Chinese government-flattering battle royale title “Game for Peace.”

Tencent did more than just change the name of the game in order for it to be approved -- and become profitable. First, gore-y content have been removed, effectively eliminating all bloodshed in the game. Second, players wave their hands goodbye when killed, turning the original violent game into something hilariously wholesome.

It seems that the tech company’s efforts have succeeded. According to a reporter from Bloomberg, “Game for Peace” has already surpassed $14m. It has already earn $20m in just five days.