The statement remains unambiguous that PUBG mobile has taken the global esports scenario to a different intensity altogether. Was it always on the top or did it make its way to the top? Like every success story, PUBG mobile had its ups and downs but slowly reached the summit and it is sensible to say that today PUBG mobile has taken the top spot in Mobile gaming and is here to stay.
The journey to success was not an easy one and it is quite clear from this story. Walking through the times since PUBG Mobile was launched in the year 2018, the amount of craze it picked up was beyond anyone’s imagination. Every player be it a student or an employee just waited for school or work to get over and return home to play some PUBG with their buddies. Why did it become so famous?
The Telecom Revolution
There are about 493 million active internet users in India today and more than half of them belong to the age group of 30 to 35. These people are young and enthusiastic who have the need, money and interest to not only try new things but set a trend. That is exactly what happened with PUBG mobile. The telecom revolution brought in by Jio made cheap and fast internet available to everyone with a large daily data capacity. This pushed the entire mobile esports scenario as players could now download more as well as play on lower pings on the new 4G network at ridiculously cheap rates.
Leaving these reasons apart the way PUBG mobile is built is commendable too. Having a user-friendly interface combined with multiple maps and regular content updates never allowed people to get bored of the game. It can be played by all and the fun of playing with your friends in duos/ squads just jazzed up the entire feeling of the play.
The Downfall
PUBG Mobile gained traction but with that came a severe backlash for the addiction it had caused amongst the players. Numerous users complained about this very addiction that caused to disrupt their daily routine activities. This backlash caused a huge effect on the game, leading millions of people talking about its dangers and reporting it on social media sites. The addiction reached to such an extent that education went for a toss as students were spending more hours on the game than with their books. There was also an increase in the complaints claiming that PUBG Mobile cited violent behaviour in its players. The crimes and cases of people facing issues because of PUBG came to the limelight. There were literally cases of people losing mental balance, killing other people or harming themselves for the game. Such cases directed for the game to be banned in many states all over India. The game was considered negative, disrupting and harmful for the users.
Revival
Tencent took this matter into their hands and were keen on developing an ecosystem where such things were avoided. There needed organized chaos amongst the players fostering for a better and healthy gaming environment. They released an official statement citing their concerns and were ready to work alongside educators and parents to bring about organization into the game. Tencent took avid measures for the same by limiting the number of hours the game can be played daily as well as discouraging players to prioritize the game overstudies and life.
After such a major counterblast, deaths and mental imbalance, it still made its way to the top. The game having a massive fan base led to the tournaments that started making the rounds and they were truly the secret weapon to save the game from the various impositions. The tournaments were being promoted by some major platforms like Bookmyshow, Nimo.tv etc. Players and users are hooked on to watching their favourite teams and players compete against each other. The live streams of esports events featuring PUBG Mobile started to rack up impressive numbers. The recently concluded PMCO Global Finals had a concurrent viewership of 100,000 across all the 6 days.
Smartphone manufacturers have also been pulled towards promoting and sponsoring the game making it reach new heights. Vodafone 5G Mobile Open Milan was the first-ever mobile tournament in the world to host an event on 5g network. The event had players play titles like Asphalt 9 and PUBG Mobile on the brand new Huawei Mate 20x 5G where we got to witness the perfect wedding of a top-notch device and unmatchable data speeds. India’s Entity Gaming and Synerge were a part of this first-ever 5g network event. Naturally, all of this garnered PUBG Mobile to have the highest prize pools when it came to mobile esports events.
The PUBG Mobile Club Open( PMCO) Global Finals sponsored by Vivo Nex, one of the biggest tournaments of all times having players around the globe participating for an impressive prize pool of $500,000 had fans all over the globe rise up in excitement. Especially the Indian PUBG fan base has been keenly involved because of Indian teams like Entity and Soul being part of it with a mindblowing Regional finals featuring all of India’s top squads. Entity finishing at 5th position was a commendable achievement as it added to the expansion of PUBG mobile in India by putting us on the Global competitive map. India was the only country to have two teams competing.
With this, the glorious journey of PUBG keeps thriving. This game truly has become one of the most loved and will always remain a game to remember even after the various controversies. It has set benchmarks in the Global Esports scenario which put mobile gaming onto the map and the numbers speak for themselves that PUBG Mobile is here to stay and slay.
