PUBG Mobile Breaks 1 Billion Download Mark Three Years After Launch

PUBG Mobile has reached over one billion downloads, not counting those in China, and is now one of the most successful games in the world according to Reuters. Oddly enough, the data was revealed by Chinese publisher Tencent, the game’s Chinese publisher during their recent earnings call.

According to data from Sensor Tower, the mobile version of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds puts it just behind Subway Surfer and Candy Crush Saga in terms of downloads, proving that core games can still be successful in a market dominated by more casual games.

Despite PUBG Mobile’s worldwide success, the game also had its fair share of controversies. The game was banned in China because of the excessive bloodshed in the game despite Tencent being a Chinese holding company. This prompted Tencent to release a less violent version called Peacekeeper Elite (a.k.a. Game For Peace) where characters had green blood and waved goodbye before flying off when they were killed. India also banned the game last year due to security concerns over Chinese apps and alleged privacy violations.

During the earning’s call, Tencent also reported a 29% increase in online game revenues for Q4 2020 with the total revenue for the quarter amounting to RMB 39.1 billion, or roughly $6 billion. The company also saw a 43% increase in revenue from games outside of China which equates to RMB 9.8 billion, or $1.5 billion, of the total revenue for the last fiscal quarter of 2020.

Check out the 1 billion downloads celebratory trailer below.