PUBG Mobile To Launch A 1.0 Update And A $2 Million Esports Tournament

PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds) Mobile is one of the biggest battle royale games worldwide, and it's clear that Tencent, the developer, hopes to grow the game's success with a set of new announcements. Tencent will launch a PUBG Mobile 1.0 update that, according to a press release, "fully upgrades the quality of the game." The PUBG Mobile esports competition will also be transformed into a $2 million USD event.

Per Tencent's press release, the 1.0 update will include "improvements...to players’ characters, including Main Lobby lights and environments, as well its iconic environments." Other gameplay elements will also be upgraded: "Particles, smoke, air blasts, muzzle flashes, and the addition of scope interaction make every shot more realistic. Parachuting, sprinting, throwing and other key actions have also been optimized." With the new update, the game also promises an up to 36% improvement in frame rate and an up to 76% reduction of lag.

In the esports arena, PUBG Mobile will combine PUBG Mobile World League (PMWL) and World Championship into one event called PUBG Mobile Global Championship (PMGC). Due to the global pandemic, a live audience could be unlikely, "but if it is safe to do so, the League will begin in late November, taking place across multiple studios."

2020 has been a good year for PUBG Mobile. According to Sensor Tower's estimates, the game "has doubled its lifetime revenue in just over seven months to more than $3 billion globally." The Chinese version of the game, titled Game For Peace, is responsible for the majority of the revenue, with the United States coming in second.