PUBG is heading to mobile

A mobile version of Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds is in development, Tencent announced this week. The mega-publisher is working with developer Bluehole to port the Windows PC hit to smartphones for Chinese audiences.

Tencent promises a similar PUBG experience on mobile as on PC, although it remains to be seen how the company will translate the shooter to a smaller screen. (There are plenty of battle royale-style games already on mobile that may give fans an idea of what to expect, at least.)

The game is currently planned to launch in China first, although Tencent neither gave a release date nor detailed plans to expand to other markets. But as the company pointed out in its (Chinese-language) press release, PUBG has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide — so we’d expect a Western release at some point.

Tencent is one of the biggest publisher in the industry, holding stock in a number of console and mobile games makers. The company recently tied up the distribution rights to PUBG in China, where it will bring the game to players for the first time. But local players should expect a slightly altered version of the game; Tencent said it would ensure that PUBG reflects “socialist core values, Chinese traditional culture and moral rules.”

More details on the mobile version are promised “in the near future.”