''PUBG Mobile'' is a
free-to-play
"Free-to-play" ("F2P" or "FtP") video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content for free. The term "free-to-play business model" or simply, "free-to-play model", refers collectively to business models tha ...
battle royale video game co-developed by
LightSpeed & Quantum Studio and
PUBG Studios
Krafton Inc. () is a South Korean video game publisher and holding company based in Bundang District, Seongnam. It was created in November 2018 to serve as the parent company for Bluehole, founded by Chang Byung-gyu in Seoul in March 2007, and ...
. It is a
mobile game
A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any Mobile device, portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet computer, table ...
adaptation of ''
PUBG: Battlegrounds''. It was initially released for
Android and
iOS
Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
on 19th of March 2018.
It was published by multiple publishers in different regions, including
Krafton
Krafton Inc. () is a South Korean video game publisher and holding company based in Bundang District, Seongnam. It was created in November 2018 to serve as the parent company for Bluehole, founded by Chang Byung-gyu in Seoul in March 2007, and ...
,
Tencent
Tencent Holdings Ltd. ( zh, s=腾讯, p=Téngxùn) is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimed ...
, and
VNG Games. By December 2022, ''PUBG Mobile'' had accumulated around 1.3 billion downloads while grossing over . It is also one of the
most-played mobile video games of all time.
In 2021, the game spawned an Indian version, ''
Battlegrounds Mobile India
''Battlegrounds Mobile India'' (''BGMI''), previously known as ''PUBG Mobile India'', is a version of ''PUBG Mobile'', available in India. It is an online multiplayer battle royale game by Krafton. The game was initially released on 2 July 2021 ...
'', and a separate game taking place in the ''
PUBG Universe'', called ''
New State Mobile
''New State Mobile'' (formerly ''PUBG: New State'') is a multiplayer online battle royale video game developed by PUBG Studios and published by Krafton. The game was released on November 11, 2021, for iOS, iPadOS and Android through the App S ...
''.
Gameplay
''PUBG Mobile'' features gameplay similar to that of the original ''
PUBG: Battlegrounds'', in which up to one hundred players fight in a
battle royale, a type of large-scale
last man standing deathmatch where players fight to remain the last alive. Players can choose to enter the match solo, duo, or with a small team of up to four people. The last person or team alive wins the match.
Each match starts with players parachuting from a plane onto one of the several maps. The plane's flight path across the map varies with each round, requiring players to quickly determine the best time to eject and parachute to the ground. Players start with no gear beyond customized clothing selections which do not affect gameplay. Once they land, players can search buildings,
ghost towns
A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...
and other sites to find weapons, vehicles, armor, and other equipment. These
items are procedurally distributed throughout the map at the start of a match, with certain high-risk zones typically having better equipment. Killed players can be looted to acquire their gear as well. Players can opt to play either from the
first-person or
third-person perspective
Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to storytelling, convey a narrative, story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to del ...
, each having their own advantages and disadvantages in combat and situational awareness.
Every few minutes, the playable area of the map begins to shrink down towards a random location, with any player caught outside the safe area taking damage incrementally, and eventually being eliminated if the safe zone is not entered in time; in game, the players see the boundary as a shimmering blue wall that contracts over time. This results in a more confined map, in turn increasing the chances of encounters. During the course of the match, random regions of the map are highlighted in red and bombed, posing a threat to players who remain in that area. In both cases, players are warned a few minutes before these events, giving them time to relocate to safety. A plane will fly over various parts of the playable map occasionally at random, or wherever a player uses a
flare gun
A flare gun, also known as a Very pistol or signal pistol, is a large-bore handgun that discharges flares, blanks and smoke. The flare gun is typically used to produce a distress signal.
Types
The most common type of flare gun is a Very (s ...
, and drop a loot package, containing items which are typically unobtainable during normal gameplay. These packages emit highly visible red smoke, drawing interested players near it and creating further confrontations. On average, a full round takes about 30 minutes.
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
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...
.
Development
''PUBG Mobile'' is the
mobile adaptation of the popular battle royale game, ''
PUBG: Battlegrounds'', developed by
PUBG Studios
Krafton Inc. () is a South Korean video game publisher and holding company based in Bundang District, Seongnam. It was created in November 2018 to serve as the parent company for Bluehole, founded by Chang Byung-gyu in Seoul in March 2007, and ...
and
LightSpeed & Quantum Studio, and published by
Tencent Games
Tencent Games () is the video game publishing subdivision of Tencent Interactive Entertainment, the digital entertainment division of Tencent Holdings. It has five internal studio groups, including TiMi Studio Group. Tencent Games was founde ...
worldwide, while
Krafton
Krafton Inc. () is a South Korean video game publisher and holding company based in Bundang District, Seongnam. It was created in November 2018 to serve as the parent company for Bluehole, founded by Chang Byung-gyu in Seoul in March 2007, and ...
and
VNG Games in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Korea
Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
and
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
respectively. The game was released in March 2018 and has since become one of the most popular
mobile games
A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to handheld game conso ...
in the world.
The development of ''PUBG Mobile'' took just 4 months to be completed, as multiple teams from around the world contributed to the project. The project began with the original PC and console version of the game, which was developed by
Brendan Greene
Brendan Greene (born 29 March 1976), better known as PlayerUnknown, is an Irish video game developer. He is best known for his work on battle royale video game '' PUBG: Battlegrounds''. He left active development on the game to form PUBG Specia ...
(known as PlayerUnknown) and released in 2017. Following the success of that particular game, Tencent Games began their development project with PUBG Studios for the mobile version. In doing so, they had to create an evolution of the
Unreal Engine 4
Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) is the fourth version of Unreal Engine developed by Epic Games. UE4 began development in 2003 and was released in March 2014, with the first game using UE4 being released in April 2014. UE4 introduced support for Physically ...
, which was optimized to suit the mobile platform, with a focus on smoother performance and enhanced graphics.
An abridged version of the game for lower-end
Android devices, ''PUBG Mobile Lite'', was first released in
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
on 24 January 2019 before releasing in
Asian,
Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
n, and
African countries
This is a list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa. It includes fully recognised states, states with limited or zero recognition, and dependent territories of both African and non-African states. It lists 56 sovereign states ...
.
Release
Following an international deal for the Windows version, Tencent Games and PUBG Corporation announced plans to release two mobile versions of the game in China. The first, ''PUBG: Exhilarating Battlefield'', is an abridged version of the original game and was developed by LightSpeed & Quantum Studio, an internal division of
Tencent Games
Tencent Games () is the video game publishing subdivision of Tencent Interactive Entertainment, the digital entertainment division of Tencent Holdings. It has five internal studio groups, including TiMi Studio Group. Tencent Games was founde ...
. The second, ''PUBG: Army Attack'', included more arcade-style elements, including action taking place on warships, and was developed by Tencent's TiMi Studio Group. Both versions were
free-to-play
"Free-to-play" ("F2P" or "FtP") video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content for free. The term "free-to-play business model" or simply, "free-to-play model", refers collectively to business models tha ...
, and were released for
Android and
iOS
Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
devices on 9 February 2018.
The games had a combined total of 75 million pre-registrations, and ranked first and second on the Chinese iOS download charts at launch.
Following a
soft launch
A soft launch, also known as a soft opening, is a preview release of a product or service to a limited audience prior to the general public. Soft-launching a product is sometimes used to gather data or customer feedback, prior to making it wi ...
in Canada, an English version of ''Exhilarating Battlefield'', localized as ''PUBG Mobile'', was released worldwide on 19 March 2018. ''PUBG Mobile KR'', a Korean and Japanese oriented version, and ''PUBG Mobile VN'', a Vietnamese oriented version, were released in June 2018 and January 2019 respectively.
In China, ''PUBG Mobile'' had been awaiting approval by the government for an authorised release, during which the game could only be offered as a public test. However, Tencent's planned release was suspended due to the
government approval freeze across most of 2018. By May 2019, Tencent announced it would no longer seek to publish ''PUBG Mobile'' in China, but instead would re-release the game under the title ''Game for Peace''; this version of the game changed elements of the original game to meet China's content restrictions, such as eliminating blood and gore. Following its release, a Taiwanese version of the game, ''PUBG Mobile TW'', was released.
A version meant for lower-end mobile devices, ''PUBG Mobile Lite'', was released on 25 July 2019. This has support for high FPS gameplay on multiple Android devices and features a smaller map made for 60 players.
The Chinese version of the app was again renamed to ''Peacekeeper Elite'' in 2020.
On 31 October 2020, the
Tencent
Tencent Holdings Ltd. ( zh, s=腾讯, p=Téngxùn) is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimed ...
-developed version of ''PUBG Mobile'' announced that it would be ceasing operations in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. On 13 November 2020, PUBG Corporation, a subsidiary of
Krafton
Krafton Inc. () is a South Korean video game publisher and holding company based in Bundang District, Seongnam. It was created in November 2018 to serve as the parent company for Bluehole, founded by Chang Byung-gyu in Seoul in March 2007, and ...
responsible for operating ''PUBG Mobile'', officially announced that the Indian version of ''PUBG Mobile'' would be released soon. On 6 May 2021, PUBG Studios officially announced that the Indian version of ''PUBG Mobile'' would be renamed to ''Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI)'' and would be released soon. On 14 May 2021, PUBG Studios officially announced that pre-registrations for ''BGMI'' would be available through
Google Play
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store, Play Store, or sometimes the Android Store (and was formerly Android Market), is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certifie ...
starting 18 May 2021.
Controversies
Bans
On 2 September 2020, the
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy) is an executive agency of the Government of India, Union Government of the India, Republic of India. It was carved out of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (I ...
banned ''PUBG Mobile'' in India amid the
2020 China-India skirmish. 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
The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
. Krafton published the game in the country as ''
Battlegrounds Mobile India
''Battlegrounds Mobile India'' (''BGMI''), previously known as ''PUBG Mobile India'', is a version of ''PUBG Mobile'', available in India. It is an online multiplayer battle royale game by Krafton. The game was initially released on 2 July 2021 ...
(BGMI)'', which can only be accessed by users in the country. In 2022, ''BGMI'' was removed from the Play Store and the Apple App Store as per orders from the Indian Government due to an alleged data leak to Chinese servers, however the game could still be played and installed using an .
apk file. On 19 May 2023, Krafton publicly announced ''BGMI'' was being relaunched for a trial period after a 10-month long dispute. The game was finally re-released on May 27 for Android users and May 29 for iOS users. However, on both the platforms, it was playable only after May 29.
Esports

The game supports several e-sport 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 the PMCO group stage, where the 32 teams are divided into four groups of eight. PMCO in India was held in 2019 for the first time, and the winner of the tournament was
Naman Mathur and his team. 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). Later, eSports grew a lot in various countries including
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, and many more, giving opportunities to many potential players.
Reception
''PUBG Mobile'' received "generally favourable" reviews according to the review aggregator
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
.
Downloads
''PUBG Mobile'' was the second most-downloaded mobile game of 2018, with nearly 300million downloads worldwide. The game's largest market was China, which accounted for 29% of the game's downloads, followed by India and the United States, each with about 10% (30million) of its downloads. It was the most-installed battle royale game of 2018, with about 200million more installs than ''
Fortnite
''Fortnite'' is an online video game and game platform developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in seven distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: '' Fortnite Battle Roy ...
''. In March 2021, ''PUBG Mobile'' had accumulated more than a billion downloads outside of China. Including ''Peacekeeper Elite'', the Chinese version of the game, and ''Battlegrounds Mobile India'', the game had a total player count of around 1.3 billion as of December 2022.
Revenue
''PUBG Mobile'' grossed () in Japan in 2018.
''PUBG Mobile'' grossed over in revenue by August 2020.
''PUBG Mobile'' grossed over in 2020, making it the
highest-grossing game of the year and bringing its total revenue to over . That figure had increased to over $9 billion as of December 2022.
In 2025, Krafton has reported record breaking earning at $1.85 billion with net profits of 119% YoY as of December 2024.
Awards
Note
References
External links
*
{{PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
2018 video games
Android (operating system) games
Battle royale games
Esports games
First-person shooter multiplayer online games
Free-to-play video games
IOS games
Multiplayer online games
Unreal Engine 4 games
Video games developed in China
Video games set on fictional islands
Internet censorship in India
Censored video games
Level Infinite games
LightSpeed Studios games