Game developer Bluehole announced late last week that it has split PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds away from the main company and it is now being maintained by a subsidiary, PUBG Corp.
The subsidiary is to be “focused entirely on the development and global business opportunities” for the smash-hit title that has already amassed a sensational amount of sales considering the game is in early-access and yet to be fully released.
The new company will see PUBG’s development lead Chang Han Kim appointed CEO of PUBG Corp, and Woonghee Cho, former CEO of Maui Games and Head of Business Development at Neowiz join as COO of the company as they look to continue PUBG’s staggering early growth.
The early-access Battle Royale style game has taken the world by storm. It’s sold over 13 million copies pre-release which is nothing short of sensational. At £30 a pop, it’s not as if the Korean developer is short of money raised on that front. Additionally, the game continues to be popular as it has now broken the record for concurrent users on Valve’s game platform Steam, eclipsing the likes of Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in the future.
Whilst questions remain over whether or not the Battle Royale format will or will not make it as an esport, by splitting the company and creating PUBG Corp, Bluehole clearly seem committed to ironing out problems in the game. Whilst many of the community are starting to get frustrated at certain aspects of the title and competitors have come about, it’s still undoubtedly going strong.
Chang Han Kim stated in a press release: “This new structure allows us to be nimble as we look towards the expansion of strategic business opportunities that include the game’s potential in the esports sector and the growth of PUBG as a true global IP franchise”.
Esports Insider says: Bluehole obviously still have significant ambition for their already blockbuster, record-breaking title. For it to forge a path in the esports world, developments will have to come thick and fast as we’ve all seen in the past that gamers can be extremely fickle at the best of times.