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UPDATE: Tencent has reportedly invested an undisclosed amount in the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds dev after the South Korean company turned down its acquisition offer.

Alissa McAloon, Publisher

August 14, 2017

1 Min Read

Tencent has reportedly invested an undisclosed sum in Bluehole, the game development studio now best known for the early access hit PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.

According to the Chinese financial news group Yicai Global, Tencent had originally hoped to acquire the South Korean game developer in its entirety, but Bluehole turned down Tencent’s acquisition bid.

Instead, the Chinese media giant opted to invest a yet-undisclosed sum in the company.

The rumored investment comes weeks after PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds became the most concurrently played non-Valve game on Steam and, according to SteamSpy, just as the battle royale title creeps toward 7 million copies sold

Tencent, meanwhile, has been growing its stake in video game developers globally for some time now. Recently, the Chinese company invested in the likes of Liverpool-based outfit Milky Tea, Elite Dangerous developer Frontier Entertainment, and is currently rumored to be eyeing Angry Birds developer Rovio.

Update: Since our story was published, Bluehole has quashed the report by explaining it isn't accurate and that "Tencent didn’t make an investment." The South Korean company was speaking to The Esports Observer earlier today. 

About the Author(s)

Alissa McAloon

Publisher, GameDeveloper.com

As the Publisher of Game Developer, Alissa McAloon brings a decade of experience in the video game industry and media. When not working in the world of B2B game journalism, Alissa enjoys spending her time in the worlds of immersive sandbox games or dabbling in the occasional TTRPG.

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