“PUBG” Esports “May Be Done In China” Due To Government Pressure

China’s crackdown on gaming continues as reports come in that PUBG has been removed from China’s top three streaming platforms. PlayerIGN, a well-known source for PUBG-related leaks, broke the news that “PUBG esports may be over in China,” and had also noted that the game had been removed from DouYu, Huya, and Tencent’s egame.gg, which would be the equivalent of PUBG being removed from Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook.

The move corresponds with a meeting between Tencent and Chinese officials in early September, after which the government halted all-new online gaming approvals. In that same meeting, the government expressed its dissatisfaction with Tencent focusing solely on profits while not aiding the country in the fight against gaming addictions in minors. The government was also unhappy with the promotion of homosexuality in Tencent’s games and ordered them to avoid promoting LGBTQ+ characters and stories. 

With PUBG removed from online streaming, the Chinese government has effectively eliminated PUBG esports from its primary source of income–streaming. This will almost certainly result in the collapse of teams, organizations, and associated domestic companies reliant on PUBG, not to mention the content creators themselves.

PUBG isn’t the only game affected by Chinese pressure. The South China Morning Post reports that the country has instituted new rules regarding game streaming, banning minors under 16 from signing up to become content creators and imposing limits to the time and money they can spend consuming video game streams. “Actions will also be taken to better classify games, review content, limit game time, and protect children’s personal information and privacy,” the publication said.

(All information was provided by TheGamer)