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PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds or more popularly known as PUBG is one of the world’s most popular multi-platform online battle royale games. According to activeplayer, in November 2021 alone, more than 532 million players had played PUBG. The Mobile version of PUBG has been downloaded over 500 million times from the Play store.
Analyst Daniel Ahmed said in a tweet that the PUBG PC and Console generated $850 million in revenue in the year 2018. According to Sensor Tower, the revenue of PUBG mobile versions alone surpassed $1.3 billion. Referring to the Business of Apps report, in the first quarter of 2021, PUBG mobile generated $709 million in revenue. But, exactly how is the online-based multiplayer game generating such massive revenue figures?
Overview of PUBG
Irish game developer Brendan Greene, popularly known by his online alias, ‘PlayerUnknown’, designed the game ‘Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds, in collaboration with Korean game developer Blue Hole Studio in 2016. The full version of PUBG for Windows was released on Steam in December 2017. While 2018 saw the official launch of the game on PlayStation and Xbox, PUBG Mobile for both the IOS and Android platforms was released in the very same year, in collaboration with Tencent’s subsidiaries Lightspeed and Quantum Studio.
According to Statista, with 3.236 million PUBG recorded their highest active players on Steam. In November 2021, the PUBG PC platform had more than 3 lahks and 41 thousand active players. Besides this, Business of Apps reported that, In December 2020, PUBG Mobile had 30 million daily active players, and the game was downloaded more than 500 million times from Play Store. On the other hand, in November 2021, PUBG released a new game, PUBG: New State, for the IOS and Android platforms. Since its release, the game has been downloaded over 10 million times. Similar to PUBG Mobile, PUBG New state is free to play as well. But the PUBG Console and PC version require purchasing.
In-App Purchase
PUBG is one of the highest customer customization option providers among online games. To avail customization, all of PUBG’s mobile, PC, and console platforms have an in-app purchase facility, which is one of the key revenue sources for the game. Players can buy UC or Unknown Cash packages for real money ranging from $0.99 to $99.99. UC is the game’s in-app currency, which can be used to avail different in-game items such as skins, and emotes. Besides that, UC can also be used by players to unlock Royal Pass, which offers some new exciting missions, exclusive upgrades, and many more unique rewards.
According to Sensor Tower, till November 2021, PUBG Mobile has generated more than $7 billion in revenue through player spending. In the first 11 months of 2021, PUBG Mobile and the Chinese version of this game, ‘Game for Peace’ earned $2.6 billion from mobile player spending. Until November 2021, this game has generated on average USD8.1 million per day. As a result, PUBG Mobile has become the second highest-earning mobile game in the world after Honor of Kings. Gamers do not have to buy UC for PUBG’s PC and console gaming. Using international currency, players can directly purchase different Emotes and Skins. Players can purchase various skins and emoticons through in-app purchases directly in international currency.
Sponsorships & Collaborations
The company also generated revenue through sponsorship collaborations on PUBG Mobile games. In addition to the game’s UI, and gameplay, the sponsor collaboration also changes the music, character, skin, and game mode. For example, as part of the collaboration with TESLA, the TESLA factory, and the TESLA car were integrated with the game. Promoting the highly anticipated movie ‘Godzilla vs Kong’, PUBG offered movie-themed skins, menus as well as various unique rewards to the players. Such collaborations allow gamers to experience unique in-game content as well as create hype surrounding brands. Through such sponsored collaborations, the game generates revenue as well.
Event Sponsorships
A significant share of PUBG’s revenue comes from event sponsorships. Various brands around the world sponsor PUBG’s professional gaming events for their own promotion. The company collected USD 2 million from sponsors for PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020, while Qualcomm was the title sponsor of the event, and Mountain Dew and OnePlus were the other sponsors for the event. According to Esports Charts, PUBG Mobile was the most-watched Esports game in 2020. During this year, PUBG Mobile recorded a watch time of 133.5 million hours, while the events aired for 7.8 thousand hours.
Merchandise
PUBG also earns from its own merchandise collection consisting PUBG themed unique apparel, accessories, and other items. These products are featured and sold through its official stores, such as Fallen Store, Super Play, Koyo, and Game Legends. The company receives a portion of this revenue.
Copy Selling
Although PUBG mobile can generate revenue from the aforementioned sources the original revenue for the PC and console versions of the game is generated while the players purchase the game from Steam, PlayStation Store, or Microsoft Store. In December 2021, the PC and the PS4 version of the games were priced at $29.99.
On the other hand, the Xbox version of the game cost $19.99. According to a report by Business Insider, in 2017, the game sold 13 million copies, from which it generated USD 390 million. The following year, In 2018, the company generated $850 million from the sales of the PC and console versions.
According to Statista, till June 2018, the PS4, Xbox, and PC versions recorded 50 million lifetime units sold, which increased to 70 million in July 2020. However, PUBG has announced that from 2022, the game would be free-to-play in the console and the pc versions as well.
Others
Besides this, PUBG generates revenue from the advertisement placements in the mobile version. PUBG mobile version shows ads in mostly two ways, one of which is the reward-based video ads, and the other is the in-game advertisements. Apart from advertisement, the game also generates revenue from content uploaded to PUBG’s official YouTube channel and other social media pages and channels.
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