Tencent Buys Stake In Bluehole, May Publish PUBG In China

Update: Bluehole has denied these rumors. No investment has been made. Bluehole commented “These reports are not accurate. Tencent didn't make an investment into Bluehole.”

Last week, Chinese news sources reported that Tencent had taken a stake in Korean MMO studio Bluehole. According to the report, the Chinese tech giant tried to buyout the privately held Korean firm but was rebuffed. Tencent had to settle for a minority stake. What percent of Bluehole Tencent now owns and how much they paid has yet to be made public.

Bluehole has been around since 2007. Tera, their first title, launched in 2011 but it is clearly the more recent success of Playerunknown's Battlegrounds that drew Tencent's attention. The Battle Royale style shooter launched into early access this March and has already sold 4+ million copies. It has also reached the highest concurrent player count of any non Valve game on the Steam platform, placing it at #3 below just Dota 2 and Counter Strike Global Offensive.

Tencent's investment in Bluehole came soon after rumors that it had picked up the Chinese publishing license for the game. Tencent has not made a public announcement yet, but considering their appetite for foreign games, it is likely true.

Rumor last week stated Tencent was going to publish PUBG in China

New rumor says Tencent has invested in Blueholehttps://t.co/1KDNc062UJ

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) August 10, 2017

Further Reading: YicaiGlobal