Mixed martial arts league Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has been announced as a strategic partner for Versus Programming Network’s (VSPN) Peacekeeper Elite League in China.
The Peacekeeper Elite League (PEL) is the official league for Tencent’s mobile shooter known as Game for Peace or alternately Peacekeeper Elite, a modified version of PUBG Mobile.
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PEL’s official Weibo post on the news doesn’t share many details on the collaboration, which has the theme “Unstoppable Ambition,” but it notes that this is UFC’s first esports partnership in China and that the companies plan to activate the alliance in various ways.
“In the future, the two parties will carry out in-depth cooperation in multiple dimensions, and innovatively inject sports genes into esports events,” reads the translated post.
Esports Insider has reached out to VSPN for additional details about the collaboration and will update the story if we hear back. The Peacekeeper Elite League begins its second season of 2020 today, and it runs through August 23rd. Smartphone maker OPPO also sponsors the league.
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Game for Peace features the same core battle royale, 100-player gameplay as PUBG Mobile and the original PC version, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. However, it has been modified to meet stringent Chinese content requirements to be officially certified for monetisation in the country.
Tencent has collaborated with various brands within the game, with a partnership with automaker Tesla announced earlier this week. Additionally, the game has featured content created in partnership with ice cream brand Häagen-Dazs.
Esports Insider says: This is definitely a unique partnership, but it shows the immense appeal of Game for Peace (a.k.a. PUBG Mobile) in China, especially with the kinds of non-endemic brands that have worked with Tencent on in-game promotions.
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