(Yicai Global) Aug. 10 -- Chinese internet leviathan Tencent Holdings Ltd. [HK:0700] has backed Bluehole Studio Inc., the South Korean company that developed the popular online fighting game Playerunknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Jiemian News reported today, citing an informed source. The exact investment amount is unclear.

The Shenzhen-based tech firm originally planned to acquire Bluehole, but the Korean game developer turned down the offer.

PUBG has sold more than four million copies, bringing in USD100 million, Bluehole said previously. The game has many users from China. The largest proportion (24 percent) of its users are based in the US, followed by China (19 percent). Germany and Russia tie for third, each having 6 percent of the total number of players.

Tencent recently stepped up its investment in foreign game companies. It acquired a 9-percent stake in British firm Frontier Developments plc for USD23.5 million (CNY156.3 million) in July. The target company developed space adventure game Elite Dangerous and construction simulation game Planet Coaster.

Founded in Seoul in March 2007, Bluehole is the owner of several multi-player internet games such as Tera and PUBG.