Mentioned in this article
- Tencent Games’ battle royale shooter PUBG Mobile for iOS and Android has topped 400M downloads and 50M daily active users.
- The Chinese version was pulled from stores in May after Tencent failed to secure monetization approval by the government. It was replaced with a similar, but more patriotic game that had been approved.
- The PUBG Mobile Club Open 2019 has a $2.5M USD prize pool, plus the game is featured in the ongoing ESL Mobile Open series.
PUBG Mobile 
, Tencent Games’ iOS and Android adaptation of PC and console battle royale shooter PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS , has set new milestones in terms of total downloads and daily active users.
According to a release, PUBG Mobile has now been downloaded more than 400M times across platforms, and has surpassed the mark of 50M daily active users. These numbers exclude activity in Tencent’s home country of China, where the game was recently pulled from release.
Tencent was unable to secure Chinese regulatory approval to monetize PUBG Mobile, and replaced it in the country in May with a game called Heping Jingying, or “Game for Peace.” The new game maintains familiar gameplay elements, but is thematically different thanks to an anti-terrorist message and elements that pay tribute to the Chinese military. The game was approved for monetization.
An analyst at investment bank China Renaissance told Reuters in May that PUBG Mobile had an estimated 70M daily active users in China before it was removed, and suggested that Game for Peace could generate ¥8-10B ($1.16-1.45M USD) annually.
Related Article: PUBG Corp. EMEA Esports Operations Manager on Battle Royale Challenges: ‘It’s Uncharted Territory’
PUBG Mobile has been building esports momentum in 2019, with the PUBG Mobile Club Open 2019 prize pool raised to $2.5M in March following the signing of smartphone maker Vivo as the title sponsor. Other recent competitions featuring PUBG Mobile include the AT&T-sponsored ESL Mobile Open, as well as the PUBG Mobile India Series. Meanwhile, Tencent recently began preparations for Game for Peace esports competitions.
The PC version of PUBG has its own large-scale esports initiative, including leagues across multiple regions and $2.69M awarded in prize pools thus far in 2019, according to Esports Earnings. The 2019 PUBG Global Championship event will award $2M is prizing later this year.
