The popular shooter is second only to Pokémon Go as the most downloaded mobile game in its first month

The battle to be the biggest game-streaming platform is costly, with high cash burn on marketing and retaining top performers.

China forecast to take back top spot in 2020 as it fully recovers from impact of approvals freeze last year.

The new game received approval to generate sales from regulators last month, which means users can buy skins and other in-game items immediately.

New game will allow Tencent to cash in on the large user base for the battle royale title after long delays to the approvals process to monetise mobile version of game.

The huge variety of realistic weapons and wide range of avatar that players can choose have helped to make the kill-or-be-killed mobile phone game a worldwide success

In the Tencent title, players can cruise around streets to catch virtual monsters, while rearing and trading cartoon kittens stored on a blockchain.

NetEase’s PUBG clone, Knives Out, was 2018’s top-grossing battle royale mobile game in China