PUBG MOBILE

PUBG Mobile[a] is a free-to-play battle royale video game developed by LightSpeed & Quantum Studio, a division of Tencent Games. It is a mobile game adaptation of PUBG: Battlegrounds and was released for Android and iOS on 19 March 2018.

It was published by multiple publishers in different regions, including Krafton, Tencent, and VNG Games. By May 2022, PUBG Mobile had accumulated over a billion downloads while grossing over $8.42 billion, making it the fourth highest-grossing mobile game. It is also the most-played mobile video game of all time. In 2021, the game spawned an Indian version, Battlegrounds Mobile India, and a separated game taking place in the PUBG Universe, New State Mobile.

Gameplay

PUBG Mobile features gameplay similar to that of the original PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. Players parachute down to a remote island and fight to remain as the last player standing, competing alone or in teams of two or four, depending on the gamemode selected before the match. Each match lasts about 30 minutes.

The game begins with the participants flying in a plane over one of many possible maps, also selected before the match. As they cross the map, players choose where to parachute down. When the plane finishes its flight, a blue border forms around the perimeter of the island, marking the boundary between the safe zone and the exterior blue zone. The safe zone shrinks every few minutes, and anyone left in the blue zone will steadily lose health as long as they remain there, potentially to the point of death. The rate of health loss increases when the safe zone shrinks.

When players first reach the island with no supplies or weapons and must find them around their environment or from other players. In general, better weapons and equipment are found in more dangerous parts of the map. In addition to the regular shrinking of the safe zone, temporary red zones may randomly appear to be barraged with bombs, and from time to time, the plane flies over the battlefield to release a package with special equipment, potentially including items that cannot be found elsewhere on the island. All of these special events, including the normal safe zone shrinking, are announced to the players before they occur to give fair warning.

Additional features unique to the mobile version of PUBG include log-in bonuses, missions and micro-goals, crew recruiting, map and compass improvements with larger and clear markers near the teammates, and an auto loot system, as well as an increased number of bots.

Esports

PUBG Mobile booth at Taipei International Video Game Show in 2021

The game supports several esport leagues and tournaments.Each major region has a PUBG Mobile Club Open (PMCO) and players compete in their respective regions until later tournaments. Only 32 teams can qualify out of the many teams that signed up. This phase is known as PMCO group stages where the 32 teams are divided into four groups of eight. Once the group stages have elapsed, the finals are hosted where the top 16 teams play. From here, the teams compete to make it to a higher level of competition known as the PUBG Mobile Pro League (PMPL).

Controversy

On 2 September 2020, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology banned PUBG Mobile in India. Following this, Tencent Games terminated all services for users in India on 30 October 2020. On 6 May 2021, Krafton announced the relaunch of the game in India, following the ban imposed by the Government of India. Krafton published the game in the country as Battlegrounds Mobile India, which can only be accessed by users in the country.

On 28 January 2022, a 14-year-old from Pakistan shot and killed his entire family. The game was cited as an influence for the murders according to the Punjab police.