Since its release in China, PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) has had a hard time from the start. Now the mobile version has been removed from the stores. The developers are now sending players to a very similar game, running under the name “Game for Peace” or “Elite Force for Peace”.
What happened? On the Chinese website Weibo (similar to Twitter), PUBG publisher Tencent announced that after more than a year, it has now ended the testing phase of the Chinese PUBG mobile version. The game is no longer available for download there.
As Reuters reports, PUBG Mobile had 70 million daily players in China. Users are now being lured with their gaming progress from PUBG Mobile to a different game that suspiciously looks like PUBG. However, it is much more patriotic.
Tencent states, “the game pays tribute to the blue warriors of the sky, who protect our country’s airspace.” This refers to the Chinese Air Force. The game translates to something like “Game for Peace.”
Why did Tencent do this? With the release of PUBG, there were already issues in China. The game had to be adapted to socialist core values initially. There was too much violence in the matches. Since the game particularly attracts teenagers, it was said to convey healthy and positive values for them. Classic shooter games with raw violence are not well-received there.
By thanking the Chinese Air Force with Game for Peace now, these are presumably positive values. Now Tencent wants to lure PUBG Mobile players to Game for Peace. You basically continue to play the same game, just “adapted.” And with this game, Tencent can also earn money in China.
This is how the censored PUBG is now different: They have apparently also taken care of the violence. As PCGamesN reports, users explain that the tactical shooter looks similar to PUBG, but is now “very socialist”.
One even writes that the violence has been significantly reduced. Injured players do not bleed. Defeated players wave goodbye instead of lying on the ground. Afterwards, they simply disappear.
In the YouTube video, you can get an impression of Game for Peace.
With the mobile version of PUBG, there have also been issues in India. The game has now been banned there. There have even been arrests.
