Tencent’s hit game PUBG Mobile has raked in USD 65 million in March at 83% monthly revenue growth, hitting a new grossing record. The “battle royale”-style game, which was released in February 2018, has earned more than USD 320 million outside China so far.
Despite its massive success among overseas players, the game has yet to get the approval from Chinese regulators. Tencent’s president Martin Lau admitted earlier last month that the company had “failed to monetise” PUBG Mobile domestically.
But PUBG Mobile is more to Tencent than just a cash-cow, industry insiders have observed. “PUBG Mobile helps Tencent to retain a huge amount of users. Even if it can’t monetize, it’s very important for Tencent strategically,” Liao Xuhua, a gaming analyst at Beijing-based data consultancy Analysys, told KrASIA.
PUBG Mobile has 115.3 million monthly active users domestically, according to data from Analysys.
“For Tencent, revenue from the overseas market is not the most important thing. What’s more important is the experience it has gained in the process which could apply to monetization of its games domestically,” Liao said. “I think PUBG Mobile could get the domestic approval eventually. Given its experience in overseas market and its current user base, its prospect for cashing in the game is very positive.”
Editor: Nadine Freischlad
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