League Of Legends Majority Owner Tencent Invests In PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Developer

Update: In an email to Polygon discussing the investment rumors, Bluehole confirmed that Tencent [...]

By Tanner Dedmon

Battle

Update: In an email to Polygon discussing the investment rumors, Bluehole confirmed that Tencent did not invest in their studio.

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has been experiencing some insane growth lately that's caught the attention of video game giant Tencent, prompting the company to buy into the game's developer.

Bluehole Studio is a South Korean company that's both developing and publishing the massive battle royale game. Recently, the game has been topping the climbing the most-played charts over on Steam by surpassing other games like Rocket League and even Counter-Strike. According to recent reports, Tencent has decided they want in on the action. It's not clear at this time exactly how much Tencent has put into Bluehole Studio and, subsequently, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, but considering how large the Chinese company is, you can bet that they've pitched quite the offer to Bluehole.

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is a game that many gamers have turned their attention towards since its reveal on Steam, a game that's sold more than 4 million copies so far. To make that even more impressive, PUBG hasn't even left its early access version yet. It's still being improved on, and the game is expected to be released later on this year after the initial release date was pushed back to ensure that the final product lived up the expectations of both the creator and the players.

Tencent reportedly first attempted to completely buyout Bluehole, but the offer was refused. Instead, it appears that Bluehole as accepted a deal that resulted in Tencent purchasing a share of the studio. Unlike the majority share that Tencent owns in Riot Games and their immensely popular MOBA League of Legends, Tencent's reportedly purchased a minority stake in Bluehole.

With Tencent being based in China, insiders who are aware of the investment are expecting to hear about an announcement confirming that a version of the game will be released soon in China. There's no confirmation of such plans at this time, but given the success that PUBG has had elsewhere combined with the booming gaming market that China boasts, it makes sense that such a move would be in the works.

More news will likely come soon detailing exactly how much Tencent decided to toss Bluehole's way as well as the possibility of a PUBG release in China.

[via GameSpace]

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