Which publisher markets and distributes PUBG in South Korea?

Kakao Games markets and distributes PUBG in South Korea.

The arrangement made Kakao Games the local publishing partner for the Korean PC version of PUBG, while the game itself was developed by PUBG Corporation, a Bluehole subsidiary at the time. Kakao’s role included regional publishing, distribution, service operations, and marketing rather than replacing the developer.

The partnership was announced in August 2017, during PUBG’s explosive early-access growth. A Korean-focused service allowed the game to operate with local infrastructure, customer support, payment systems, and promotional channels familiar to players in South Korea. The standard global PC release and the Korean service were therefore related but not identical publishing arrangements.

A common mix-up is confusing Kakao Games with Tencent Games. Tencent became PUBG’s publishing partner in China and was also involved with PUBG Mobile, while Kakao Games handled the South Korean PC market. Pearl Abyss, Netmarble, and Nexon are major Korean game companies, but they are not the publisher identified for PUBG’s South Korean distribution in this context.