62/100
Players147 ratings: 87/100
Critics1 review

Where to get it

2018 · Lightspeed and Quantum Studios Group · Battle royale · Shooter

PUBG Mobile

PUBG Mobile is the mobile version of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, a battle royale game where up to 100 players parachute onto an island, scavenge for weapons and equipment, and fight to be the last person or team standing as the playable area gradually shrinks. The game includes several modes beyond the standard battle royale, including smaller team-based formats. It is free-to-play with in-app purchases.

Released: 19 March 2018
Platforms: Android iOS
Genres: Battle royale Shooter Strategy
Developers: Lightspeed and Quantum Studios Group PUBG Studios
Publishers: Krafton Tencent Games VNG
Modes: Multiplayer
Perspective: First person Third person
Themes: Action
Engine: Unreal Engine 4
Age ratings: CLASS_IND 12 PEGI 16 ESRB T
Languages: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Mexico), Thai, Turkish
Time to beat: 1hwith extras1hcompletionist

About

PUBG Mobile is a free-to-play multiplayer battle royale game co-developed by LightSpeed Studios and Pubg Corporation. It is a mobile game adaptation of PUBG: Battlegrounds. It was initially released for Android and iOS on 19 March 2018.

The game was published by multiple publishers in different regions, including Krafton, Tencent, and VNG Corporation. By January 2026, PUBG Mobile had accumulated around 1.75 billion downloads while grossing over $15 billion. 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, and a separate game taking place in the PUBG Universe, called New State Mobile.

Keywords

modern warfare
motorcycle
murder
pvp
skydiving
hand-to-hand combat
online
in-game currency
free-to-play
airplane
digital distribution
loot boxes

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

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 and other sites to find weapons, vehicles, armor, and other equipment.

Development

PUBG Mobile is the mobile adaptation of the popular battle royale game, PUBG: Battlegrounds, developed by PUBG Studios and LightSpeed Studios, and published by Tencent Games worldwide, while Krafton and VNG Corporation in India, Korea and Vietnam respectively. The game was released in March 2018 and has since become one of the most popular mobile games 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 (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, which was optimized to suit the mobile platform, with a focus on smoother performance and enhanced graphics.

Reception

PUBG Mobile received "generally favourable" reviews according to the review aggregator website Metacritic.

PUBG Mobile was the second most-downloaded mobile game of 2018, with nearly 300 million 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% (30 million) of its downloads. It was the most-installed battle royale game of 2018, with about 200 million more installs than Fortnite. In March 2021, PUBG Mobile had accumulated more than a billion downloads outside of China.