Chinese multinational technology conglomerate Tencent’s action game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile has exceeded 1 billion accumulated downloads outside China, titling it as one of the most popular games across the globe.
The mobile version of PUBG in which a group of players fights one another until only a single combatant is left alive, the game got highly popular since the so-called battle royale style game was launched three years ago.
According to data analytics firm Sensor Tower, the latest download figures puts the game behind only Kiloo Games’ Subway Surfers and King Digital Entertainment’s Candy Crush Saga, both casual games which are comparatively easy to play and appeal to a wide audience.
“PUBG Mobile achieving 1 billion downloads shows that core games, in this case, a AAA Battle Royale title based on the PC IP of the same name, can achieve the same scale in the mobile space,” said Daniel Ahmad, an analyst with Niko Partners.
The world’s biggest video games company by revenue, Tencent has another battle royale title in China called Peacekeeper Elite and the recent announcement about PUBG Mobile’s astronomical success came as the Chinese company reported its online games revenue rose 29 percent in the fourth quarter, driven by a surge in paying users for video games in international markets.
In the fourth quarter, the two hit games of Tencent, Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile have continued to be in the top rankings both in the Chinese and international market.
Tencent aims to derive half of its game revenue from overseas. Both of its LightSpeed and Quantum Studios and Timi Studios have opened stores in Los Angeles, targeting to create content with original intellectual property that has global appeal.
