As the popularity of the Battle Royale genre continues to spread thanks to the unprecedented rise to fame of first person shooter "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" (PUBG), it was only a matter of time before other companies released their take on the genre. Chinese technology giant Tencent is one of those companies, and it is set to release a new mobile game to take the concept to smartphones.
The company announced that it is developing a game with the Battle Royale type of gameplay, where many players fight against one another, with the last person standing being declared the winner.
The upcoming game has a tentative title "Glorious Mission," and will include many of the familiar elements from PUBG, including 100-player games, a looting system, and parachuting onto an island at the beginning of the game.
The popularity of the "Hunger Games" style of gameplay has been proven in China, as the country now hosts a large chunk of PUBG's playerbase. In the mobile games category, Tencent's own "Honour of Kings" mobile role playing game has recently been unseated as China's top mobile game by a Chinese title that is a PUBG copycat. With the impending launch of "Glorious Mission," Tencent is keen on getting back the top spot it has held for a year.
There are also reports that PUBG may be banned in China because it may be deemed detrimental to young consumers and incompatible with "values of socialism." Should it happen, "Glorious Mission" may become an even bigger hit in the country.
Tencent is one of the biggest technology companies in China today. It owns part of a number of game developers and publishers. The company owns five percent of Bluehole Studios, the company that developed PUBG. It also owns 40 percent of Epic, which recently released a Battle Royale PC game to rival PUBG. Tencent also owns Riot Games, the company that developed "League of Legends."
