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The latest news, analysis and opinion on PUBG. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Chinese video game studios are doubling down on exporting high-quality titles to overseas markets. Photo: Shutterstock

China’s video gaming firms bet on overseas revenue growth amid weak home market

Overseas sales of China-developed video games in 2024 increased 13.4 per cent from a year earlier to US$18.6 billion.

9 May 2025 - 7:00AM

Tencent sharpens focus on ‘evergreen’ video games in mainland China

29 May 2024 - 7:50PM

Tencent to develop mobile version of hit anime game Blue Protocol

13 Sep 2023 - 3:24PM

‘I’d rather die than return’, says Pakistani who fled to marry Indian PUBG pal

Sachin Meena and Seema Haider were arrested then bailed last week after the Pakistani national smuggled herself into India via Nepal in May.

13 Jul 2023 - 3:24PM

Sachin Meena and Seema Haider at their home in Rabupura village, India. Photo: AFP

They met playing PUBG, she fled Pakistan for India for him. Both were arrested

A Pakistani woman took her four kids and made a dangerous trek to India to be with her lover she met through the popular video game PUBG.

9 Jul 2023 - 2:28PMvideocam

China’s Tencent, miHoYo stay on lofty perch with world’s most lucrative mobile games

Tencent’s Honour of Kings and PUBG Mobile, and miHoYo’s Genshin Impact were the three highest-grossing mobile games in the first half of this year.

8 Jul 2022 - 2:54AMvideocam

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Chinese-developed mobile games to see greater demand in US, Europe

Slower growth is predicted in China because of the government’s rigid video game licensing process and restrictions on playing time for young gamers.

10 May 2022 - 7:30PMvideocam

Tencent Holdings’ PUBG Mobile was the world’s second top-grossing mobile game, with revenue of US$199.8 million in March, according to Sensor Tower. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Tencent and miHoYo mobile games are top earners amid tougher Chinese market

Honour of Kings, PUBG Mobile and Genshin Impact remained the most lucrative mobile games in the world in the first quarter, but spending on video games has declined amid greater regulatory oversight in China.

7 Apr 2022 - 6:30AMvideocam

Chinese start-ups follow TikTok’s exit from India amid apps ban

India has banned more than 270 Chinese apps since June 2020, when tensions heightened between the two countries after a deadly Himalayan border clash.

28 Feb 2022 - 10:05PMvideocam

China technology

Latest anti-gaming op-ed adds more uncertainty to China’s video game industry

China’s regulators should tighten their grip on video games to avoid historical misrepresentations, according to the country's top radio broadcaster.

31 Aug 2021 - 7:58PMvideocam

Kids compete in an Honour of Kings tournament in Wuhan in 2018. Photo: AFP

Beijing’s tech crackdown trips trading debut of Tencent-backed Krafton

The PUBG: Battlegrounds creator’s disappointing launch has come after Chinese state media’s latest broadside against video gaming and market leader Tencent.

10 Aug 2021 - 9:48PM

Tencent Holdings’ PUBG Mobile is the smartphone version of South Korean developer Krafton’s hit video game PUBG: Battlegrounds. Photo: EPA-EFE

Tencent has invested in a new gaming company every three days this year

Tencent has invested in 62 video game start-ups this year, double the number for all of 2020, as it tries to ward off new industry challengers and scrutiny of its investment activity.

2 Jul 2021 - 12:33PMvideocam

TikTok leads Chinese apps among world’s highest-earning apps

TikTok is the highest-earning app for the year through June 23, as Chinese apps and video games continue to benefit from shifting consumption habits during the Covid-19 pandemic.

29 Jun 2021 - 9:53PMvideocam

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Why esports and the Olympics still have a complicated relationship

The IOC is reluctant to embrace an Olympic future for esports, despite its growing popularity among Generation Z and millennials.

20 Jun 2021 - 11:00AMvideocam

The Indonesian esports team competes in an exhibition at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. Photo: AFP

Shenzhen to outlaw digital profiling of minors in blow to Big Tech

Shenzhen is set to outlaw personalised recommendations for minors, further restricting what Big Tech companies can do with the data they collect.

1 Jun 2021 - 5:30PM

Young boys play the game Honour of Kings, developed by Tencent, during an event inside a shopping centre in Handan, Hebei province, on August 5, 2018. Photo: Reuters

To win in mobile gaming, Chinese studios lure gamers with stories they love

China’s gaming giants and newer entrants like Yoozoo are pouring money into overseas properties like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Game of Thrones to attract more mobile gamers from overseas.

30 Jan 2021 - 11:18AM

India makes ban on TikTok, 58 other Chinese apps permanent

When it first imposed the ban, the Indian government gave the 59 apps a chance to explain their position on compliance with privacy and security requirements.

26 Jan 2021 - 9:17AMvideocam

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Tencent’s gaming empire feels the heat from start-ups and rival tech giants

Amid record growth in 2020, Tencent’s gaming empire is now under siege from big tech rivals and upstarts alike, with one of the hottest new games of the year circumventing Tencent’s ecosystem.

11 Jan 2021 - 6:30AM

How gamers from India and Pakistan teamed up for esports

India banned the PUBG mobile game, licensed by Tencent, after a border dispute with China, leaving an esports team in Kashmir without players.

18 Dec 2020 - 7:00AM

Why video game VPNs get a pass from Chinese regulators

The limited launch of League of Legends: Wild Rift caused a surge of interest in game boosters, leading to friction between Chinese and overseas gamers.

7 Dec 2020 - 8:37AM

Genshin Impact wins best game accolade from Apple and Google

Genshin Impact’s success follows on from wins for PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile – developed by Tencent – in recent years.

3 Dec 2020 - 12:11PM

Genshin Impact has a fairytale-like anime style visual. Photo: Handout

PUBG to get a new mobile game to counter India’s Chinese app ban

PUBG Corp announced that it is launching PUBG Mobile India after the country banned the franchise’s original mobile game because it was developed by China’s Tencent.

12 Nov 2020 - 9:05PM

A woman plays PUBG Mobile on her smartphone in New Delhi on September 2. Photo: EPA-EFE

Tencent’s Honour of Kings racks up record daily users, trouncing Fortnite

Honour of Kings is a multiplayer game, wildly popular in China, where a team of five heroes go up against another team of five.

3 Nov 2020 - 2:02AMvideocam

Gacha game Genshin Impact ends Tencent’s stranglehold on mobile games

New gacha game from miHoYo is on track to become the most profitable mobile title in October despite controversy over how it makes money from players

30 Oct 2020 - 10:08PM

Tencent’s answer to World of Warcraft pulls in US$50 million

With Moonlight Blade, Tencent promises a gameplay experience equal to playing an MMORPG on PC, showing how far mobile gaming has come.

27 Oct 2020 - 7:45PM

Moonlight Blade is Tencent's flagship MMORPG. Five years after launching on PC, it finally has a mobile version. Photo: Handout

China technology

Call of Duty: Mobile launches in China with Jay Chou’s endorsement

Tencent’s Call of Duty: Mobile finally launches in China with nearly 50 million preregistered users and the endorsement of pop star Jay Chou

21 Oct 2020 - 10:02PM

Licensed by Activision Blizzard and developed by Tencent, Call of Duty: Mobile has been endorsed by Chinese pop star Jay Chou. Photo: Handout

Gamers vent after mega-hit Genshin Impact censors sensitive topics in chat

Censoring sensitive words related to hot-button political topics in China has been standard practice for Chinese games or Western games operating in China for years.

8 Oct 2020 - 1:36PM

Chinese PUBG Mobile called out for privacy issues

Popular mobile games are being called out for violating user privacy during China’s internet clean-up campaign.

15 Sep 2020 - 9:22PM

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