A Japanese studio-developed video game has sparked an unexpected competition in cloud computing between Chinese tech giants Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding. The game, Palworld, created by Pocketpair, has gained immense popularity since its release on the Steam platform, selling over eight million copies in less than six days.
Due to the overwhelming demand from gamers, Pocketpair has struggled to handle the surge and has allowed players to host the game on private servers. This has led Chinese cloud service providers, including Tencent and Alibaba, to promote their server packages to attract mainland gamers.
Alibaba and Tencent are offering dedicated server plans for groups of eight or 20 Palworld players, with monthly fees ranging from 26.5 yuan to 271.8 yuan (RM17.65 to RM181). Tencent has also introduced similar packages, priced between 26 yuan (RM17) and 580 yuan (RM386) per month.
“In view of the popularity of Palworld … which led to problems on the official servers, setting up private servers is the most stable and comfortable solution for those who are financially well-off,” read a post on Tencent Cloud’s official WeChat account published on Jan 25.
Alibaba and Tencent have previously engaged in price wars in China’s competitive cloud computing market. Alibaba Cloud announced last April that it was reducing the prices of its core products and services in China by 15% to 50%. Tencent followed suit soon after, promising to cut the costs of some cloud servers by up to 40%.
Both companies are taking advantage of the popularity of Palworld, which has become the most-played game on Steam despite its relatively high price of US$29.99 (RM142). The average price for games on Steam is US$15.50 (RM73).
According to game analyst Zhang Shule of CBJ Think Tank, players are impressed by the game’s blend of monster-catching excitement and cute creature designs. This has contributed to its success.
However, the game, known among players as “Pokémon with guns”, has faced controversy. The Pokémon Company announced plans to investigate claims that Palworld infringed on its intellectual property rights. Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe has also reported receiving abusive comments and what appear to be death threats.
Even though Steam is not accessible in mainland China, Palworld has become popular in the country, with players using virtual private networks to access and play the game. Palworld is also available on Microsoft’s Xbox. – South China Morning Post
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