Ultimate Pop Culture Wiki

We're looking to revitalize this wiki! For more information, click here.

READ MORE

Ultimate Pop Culture Wiki
Ultimate Pop Culture Wiki
Advertisement

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Steam Logo
Developer(s)PUBG Corporation[n 1]
Publisher(s)
PUBG Corporation
Director(s)
  • Brendan Greene
  • Tae-seok Jang
Producer(s)Chang-han Kim
Designer(s)Brendan Greene
Artist(s)Tae-seok Jang
Composer(s)Tom Salta
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)
Release
December 20, 2017
  • Microsoft Windows
  • December 20, 2017
  • Android, iOS
  • March 19, 2018
  • Xbox One
  • September 4, 2018
  • PlayStation 4
  • December 7, 2018
Genre(s)Battle royale
Mode(s)Multiplayer

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) is an online multiplayer battle royale game developed and published by PUBG Corporation, a subsidiary of South Korean video game company Bluehole. The game is based on previous mods that were created by Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene for other games, inspired by the 2000 Japanese film Battle Royale, and expanded into a standalone game under Greene's creative direction. In the game, up to one hundred players parachute onto an island and scavenge for weapons and equipment to kill others while avoiding getting killed themselves. The available safe area of the game's map decreases in size over time, directing surviving players into tighter areas to force encounters. The last player or team standing wins the round.

Battlegrounds was first released for Microsoft Windows via Steam's early access beta program in March 2017, with a full release in December 2017. The game was also released by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox One via its Xbox Game Preview program that same month, and officially released in September 2018. A free-to-play mobile version for Android and iOS was released in 2018, in addition to a port for the PlayStation 4. Battlegrounds is one of the best-selling and most-played video games of all time, selling over fifty million copies worldwide by June 2018, with over 400 million players in total when including the mobile version.

Battlegrounds received positive reviews from critics, who found that while the game had some technical flaws, it presented new types of gameplay that could be easily approached by players of any skill level and was highly replayable. The game was attributed to popularizing the battle royale genre, with a number of unofficial Chinese clones also being produced following its success. The game also received several Game of the Year nominations, among other accolades. PUBG Corporation has run several small tournaments and introduced in-game tools to help with broadcasting the game to spectators, as they wish for it to become a popular esport. The game has also been banned in some countries for allegedly being harmful and addictive to young players.

Gameplay[]

Battlegrounds is a player versus player shooter game 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.[1]

Each match starts with players parachuting from a plane onto one of the four maps, with areas of approximately 8 × 8 kilometres (5.0 × 5.0 mi), 6 × 6 kilometres (3.7 × 3.7 mi), and 4 × 4 kilometres (2.5 × 2.5 mi) in size.[2] 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.[1] 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. These items are procedurally distributed throughout the map at the start of a match, with certain high-risk zones typically having better equipment.[1] Killed players can be looted to acquire their gear as well.[1] Players can opt to play either from the first-person or third-person perspective, each having their own advantages and disadvantages in combat and situational awareness; though server-specific settings can be used to force all players into one perspective to eliminate some advantages.[3]

Every few minutes, the playable area of the map begins to shrink down towards a random location, with any player caught outside the safe area taking damage incrementally, and eventually being eliminated if the safe zone is not entered in time; in game, the players see the boundary as a shimmering blue wall that contracts over time.[4] This results in a more confined map, in turn increasing the chances of encounters.[1] During the course of the match, random regions of the map are highlighted in red and bombed, posing a threat to players who remain in that area.[5] In both cases, players are warned a few minutes before these events, giving them time to relocate to safety.[6] A plane will fly over various parts of the playable map occasionally at random, or wherever a player uses a flare gun, and drop a loot package, containing items which are typically unobtainable during normal gameplay. These packages emit highly visible red smoke, drawing interested players near it and creating further confrontations.[1][7] On average, a full round takes no more than 30 minutes.[6]

At the completion of each round, players gain in-game currency based on their performance. The currency is used to purchase crates which contain cosmetic items for character or weapon customization.[8] A rotating "event mode" was added to the game in March 2018. These events change up the normal game rules, such as establishing larger teams or squads, or altering the distribution of weapons and armor across the game map.[9]

Development[]

Brendan greene gdc 2018

Game creator Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene at the 2018 Game Developers Conference

The game's concept and design was led by Brendan Greene, better known by his online handle PlayerUnknown, who had previously created the ARMA 2 mod DayZ: Battle Royale, an offshoot of popular mod DayZ, and inspired by the 2000 Japanese film Battle Royale.[10][11] At the time he created DayZ: Battle Royale, around 2013, Irish-born Greene had been living in Brazil for a few years as a photographer, graphic designer, and web designer, and played video games such as Delta Force: Black Hawk Down and America's Army.[12][13] The DayZ mod caught his interest, both as a realistic military simulation and its open-ended gameplay, and started playing around with a custom server, learning programming as he went along.[12] Greene found most multiplayer first-person shooters too repetitive, considering maps small and easy to memorize. He wanted to create something with more random aspects so that players would not know what to expect, creating a high degree of replayability; this was done by creating vastly larger maps that could not be easily memorized, and using random item placement across it.[14] Greene was also inspired by an online competition for DayZ called Survivor GameZ, which featured a number of Twitch.tv and YouTube streamers fighting until only a few were left; as he was not a streamer himself, Greene wanted to create a similar game mode that anyone could play.[14] His initial efforts on this mod were more inspired by The Hunger Games novels, where players would try to vie for stockpiles of weapons at a central location, but moved away from this partially to give players a better chance at survival by spreading weapons around, and also to avoid copyright issues with the novels.[11] In taking inspiration from the Battle Royale film, Greene had wanted to use square safe areas, but his inexperience in coding led him to use circular safe areas instead, which persisted to Battlegrounds.[11]

When DayZ became its own standalone title, interest in his ARMA 2 version of the Battle Royale mod trailed off, and Greene transitioned development of the mod to ARMA 3.[12] Sony Online Entertainment (now the Daybreak Game Company) had become interested in Greene's work, and brought him on as a consultant to develop on H1Z1, licensing the battle royale idea from him.[12] In February 2016, Sony Online split H1Z1 into two separate games, the survival mode H1Z1: Just Survive, and the battle royale-like H1Z1: King of the Kill, around the same time that Greene's consultation period was over.[15]

Separately, the Seoul-based studio Ginno Games, led by Chang-han Kim and who developed massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) for personal computers, was acquired and renamed Bluehole Ginno Games by Bluehole in January 2015, a major South Korean publisher of MMOs and mobile games.[16][17] Kim recognized that producing a successful game in South Korea generally meant it would be published globally, and wanted to use his team to create a successful title for personal computers that followed the same model as other mobile games published by Bluehole. He had already been excited about making a type of battle royale game after he had played DayZ, in part that the format had not caught on in Korea. He also wanted to make this through an early access model and have a very limited development schedule to get the game out as quickly as possible, while treating the product as a "games as a service" model to be able to support it for many years.[16] In researching what had been done, he came across Greene's mods and reached out to him.[16] In July 2017, Bluehole partnered with social media platform Facebook to provide exclusive streaming content to Facebook's gaming channels, as part of their pushing to provide more gaming content for its users.[18]

Around the same time that Greene left Sony Online, Kim contacted and offered him the opportunity to work on a new battle royale concept. Within a week, Greene flew out to Bluehole's headquarters in Korea to discuss the options, and a few weeks later, became the creative director of Bluehole. He moved to South Korea to oversee development.[14] According to Greene, this was the first time a Korean game studio had brought aboard a foreigner for a creative director role, and while a risk, he says that his relationship with Bluehole's management is strong, allowing Greene's team to work autonomously with minimal oversight.[6] The game's main musical theme was composed by Tom Salta, who was personally selected by Greene as he and the team were looking for an "orchestral electronic hybrid theme" that would give players a "huge build-up", keeping them "resolutely determined" until a match starts.[19]

Development began in early 2016 and was publicly announced that June, with plans to have the game ready within a year.[20][21] Kim served as executive producer for the game.[14] Bluehole started with a team of about 35 developers supporting Greene's work, but had expanded to 70 by June 2017.[22] Greene stated that many of these developers were voluntarily putting in longer work hours into the game due to their dedication to the project, and not by any mandate from himself or Bluehole's management.[14][23] In addition to Bluehole, Greene also credits Bohemia Interactive, the developers of ARMA and DayZ, for support with motion capture animations via their Prague studio.[23][22]

With the rapid growth of interest in the game, Bluehole spun out the entire development for Battlegrounds into Bluehole Ginno Games in September 2017, which was renamed PUBG Corporation with Kim as its chief executive officer. PUBG Corporation continued the development of the game and its marketing and growth, opening an office in the United States with plans for future ones in Europe and Japan.[24] In August 2018, PUBG Corporation launched the "Fix PUBG" campaign, acknowledging that that game by then still had several lingering bugs and other performance issues.[25] The campaign finished in November, with PUBG Corporation calling it a success as everything listed had been implemented by then.[26]

In March 2019, Greene announced that he was stepping down as the game's lead designer, but would still serve as a creative consultant. Tae-seok Jang, the game's art director, would replace him, with Green relocating to PUBG's studio in Amsterdam, PUBG Special Projects.[27] Greene stated that he believed the main Battlegrounds team was at a place to continue developing the game in the direction he had set to keep the game unique among the other battle royale games it had launched, and he wanted to try something not tied to battle royale but still multiplayer-based. The move also put him closer to his family in Ireland.[28]

Design[]

Battlegrounds represents the standalone version of what Greene believes is the "final version" of the battle royale concept, incorporating the elements he had designed in previous iterations.[6][29] Faster development was possible with the game engine Unreal Engine 4, compared with ARMA and H1Z1, which were built with proprietary game engines. Greene acknowledged that implementing the size of the maps in Battlegrounds has been one of the challenges with working with Unreal, which was not designed with such maps in mind.[6][12] The game was designed as a mix between the realistic simulation of ARMA 3 and the arcade-like action focus and player accessibility of H1Z1.[5] To prevent in-game cheating, the game uses the "BattlEye" anti-cheating software, which had permanently banned over 13 million players by October 2018.[30][31] BattlEye indicated that 99% of all cheating software for the game was developed in China.[32]

Based on Greene's experience with the genre, an island with many terrain features was picked as the first map, known as "Erangel".[11] The map design scope was to offer players many possible options for strategic and unique gameplay.[4] Some buildings and structures were designed to depict the style of the brutalist architecture of the Soviet Union during the 1950s. The developer team playtested architecture features and random item placement systems, looking at both how close-quarters encounters went, and for open terrain areas.[4] The goal was to optimize the right distribution and placement of weapons and gear across the map, to encourage players to make strategic decisions about how to proceed in the game without overly penalizing players who may not find weapons within the first few minutes of a round.[6] During early access, additional maps were planned, such as one set on a fictional island in the Adriatic Sea that included snow-covered Yugoslavian territories.[33][22] Greene stated that he thought the Erangel map felt disjointed despite meeting their goals for gameplay, and sought to create more unified ideas with future maps.[11]

The freefall from an airplane at the start of each match was a new feature for the genre, to encourage strategy between staying with the pack of players or seeking out one's own route for a better chance at finding good loot.[6] With the added parachute drop, Greene considered that Battlegrounds had three distinct subgames: the airdrop during which one must quickly figure out the best time to jump and where to land in relationship to the other players, the loot game of knowing where and how to gather the best possible equipment, and the combat game with other players.[34] Winners of a match are greeted with the phrase "winner winner chicken dinner", an idiom that Greene had used in his prior battle royale games and kept in Battlegrounds, which itself had origins as early as the Great Depression era.[35]

Greene also introduced microtransactions that allow players to use real-world funds to purchase loot crates that provide randomly-selected cosmetic items, also known as "skins", which they can trade with other players; while Greene recognizes the issue with skin gambling, he believes that Valve has put safeguards in place to support a "skin economy" that will provide further revenue for them without concerns over gambling.[8] However, by November 2017, gray market skin gambling sites began to appear that used Battlegrounds cosmetics as virtual currency.[36] Following controversy over the use of loot boxes to offer "pay-to-win" items in other games in November 2017, the PUBG Corporation affirmed that while they would continue to add new cosmetic items rewarded by in-game crate purchases, they would never add anything that affects or alters gameplay.[37] In May 2018, PUBG Corporation disabled the ability to trade skins on the Steam Marketplace as they found that players were still abusing the system by selling them for monetary value through unofficial third-party platforms.[38] While still in early access, Bluehole offered an early preview of the system by offering time-limited crates that could be purchased during the first Battlegrounds Invitations tournament during Gamescom in August 2017, with the sales from these contributing to the prize pool. Among loot from these crates were special outfits inspired by the original Battle Royale film.[39] Greene anticipates adding a campaign mode with co-operative player support, though there would be "no serious lore" crafted for the narrative, comparing this to similar modes in Watch Dogs.[40]

The game also features custom gamemodes and modding support.[6][14] He considered modding support an essential part of the full release as, just as he had his start with mods, he wants to enable others to create variations on his game so that he could "find the next PlayerUnknown".[41] This was aided by a quiet release of custom server support to a number of influential streamers which subsequently made it into public release.[23] In one case, "Zombie Mode", all but four players pretend to be zombies, who may sometimes distinguish themselves by removing all clothing and are limited only to collecting melee weapons and consumable items, and must rush to attack the other four players, who are able to collect all gear and attempt to outrun and defeat the zombies.[42] Inspired by this mode, Greene announced plans to introduce an official zombie-based gameplay mode based on this into Battlegrounds.[43] Whereas most of the rest of the team continued to develop the core gameplay and maps, Greene is taking on the zombie mode as a near solo project, only using the assistance of the lead animator to help with the zombie animations.[22] Greene sees Battlegrounds as a platform, and would like to see more custom game types and mods developed by players for it.[12] Greene identified that some mods that he also previously worked on from ARMA 3 may become part of the Battlegrounds platform.[12] Greene also wants to incorporate the game with streaming services like Twitch.tv that would enable replays or other features amenable to treating Battlegrounds as an esport, calling this an "ultimate end goal" for his development, but he wanted to let the nature of how it would play out naturally with players.[6][14][13]

Release[]

Windows[]

Bluehole used closed alpha and beta periods with about 80,000 players to gauge initial reaction to the gameplay and adjust balance prior to a wider release.[14][44] Just prior to the early access phase on Steam, Bluehole opened a few servers and invited some popular live streamers of similar games to try it out as to start gaining interest.[45] Early access for the Windows version launched on March 23, 2017.[46] This period was planned to last approximately six months, originally aiming for a September 2017 release.[46][47] In July 2017, Greene announced that they would need to extend the early access period by a few months, continuing to release updates on a regular basis, with plans to still release by the end of 2017, as committing to this original period "could hinder us from delivering a fully featured game and/or lead to disappointment within the community if the launch deadline is not met".[48] Initially, Bluehole had expected that they would just gain enough players through early access to smooth out the gameplay, and only when the game was completed, they would have started more marketing for the title. The sudden interest in the game from early access exceeded their expectations, and put emphasis on the stability of the game and its underlying networking alongside gameplay improvements.[44] Through August 2017, these updates generally included a major weekly patch alongside major monthly updates that provided key performance improvements.[49] However, from August onward Bluehole backed off the rate of such patches, as the high frequency has led to some quality control issues, and the developers rather make sure each patch content is well-vetted by the community before providing new updates; this did not change their plans for a 2017 release, where it fully released out of early access on December 20.[50][51]

In part of the game's success in early access, Tencent Games, the largest publisher of video games in China, approached Bluehole that same month with an offer to publish Battlegrounds in China and purchase equity in the company.[52] However, the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association issued a statement in October 2017 that discouraged battle royale-style games, stating that they are too violent and deviate from Chinese values of socialism, deeming it harmful to young consumers.[53][54] The following month however, PUBG had reached a formal agreement with the Chinese government to allow the release of the game in the country, with Tencent as the publishing partner.[55] However, some changes were made to make sure it aligned with socialist values and traditional Chinese morals.[56] In South Korea, the game is marketed and distributed by Kakao Games.[57]

Despite the lack of a Chinese publisher prior to the Tencent deal, players in China had found ways to acquire and play the game through Steam via proxies and other networking tricks.[58] To address it, PUBG Corporation planned to add maximum client ping limits for servers which can reduce the issues with latency problems and prevent some of the cheating that has occurred. This would not prevent cross-region matchmaking but may make it difficult for some players to play outside their region if they have a poor Internet infrastructure.[59] Tencent has also helped by identifying and reporting around 30 software programs to Chinese police that can be used to cheat in Battlegrounds, leading to over a hundred arrests by the beginning of 2018.[60] Separately, this technical issue, in addition to the larger number of Chinese players, has created complaints in the player community. Some Western players fear that many Chinese players are able to cheat in the game by exploiting some of the network latency issues, something that PUBG Corporation continued to address as the game shifted out of early access. However, a small number of players called for server segregation by region, and had used racial insults at Chinese players they encounter in game. Greene was disappointed with this "xenophobic attitude", calling it "disgraceful", and asked the player community to respect the Chinese players more as their numbers were a key part of the game's success.[58] Greene also identified that players can easily get around such region locks using virtual private networks, making this approach ineffective.[61] PUBG Corporation eventually added region-based matchmaking by October 2018, though players still reported issues with connectivity and slow matchmaking.[62]

Xbox One[]

Greene was part of Microsoft's press conference during E3 2017 to announce that Battlegrounds would be coming to Xbox One as a timed console exclusive sometime by the end of 2017, using the Xbox Game Preview early access approach to test it.[63][64][44]

Initially, Greene said that Microsoft was not directly involved in the porting but only providing assistance to make sure the port is good, and that most of the porting responsibilities are being done by Anticto, a Spanish developer.[41] However, at Gamescom that year, Bluehole affirmed that Microsoft Studios would be publishing the Xbox One version of the title, helping to make a planned 2017 release for this version.[65] Greene said that Microsoft's support has helped in several ways, not only for the Xbox One version but improving the performance and security of the Windows version. Further, by being part of the group of studios under the Microsoft banner, they have been able to talk and incorporate technology from other developers, such as improved water rendering techniques they obtained from Rare that they had developed for Sea of Thieves.[66] Microsoft considered Battlegrounds to be an important project to demonstrate their company's ability to be more than just a publisher, according to Microsoft's Nico Bihary who lead the project. Bihary said they have given Battlegrounds a "white glove" treatment, and for the Xbox One port have provided services from their advanced technology group and time and support from The Coalition, another of Microsoft Studios' subsidiaries.[67] Kim also stated that the team was interested in cross-platform play between the Windows and console versions, but did not anticipate this as a release feature, as they need to determine how to mitigate the advantage keyboard and mouse-using players would have over those using controllers.[44]

Titled "Game Preview Edition", the early access version for the Xbox One was released on December 12, 2017 in both digital and physical formats.[68] To promote it, Microsoft performed real-life supply crate drops in Australia in the week prior, with the crates containing Xbox hardware, Battlegrounds merchandise, and other goods, using passcodes published alongside the drop locations on social media.[69] The Xbox version also includes Xbox-specific in-game cosmetic items, some which could be purchased directly rather than through in-game crates.[70] The official release out of the Game Preview program occurred on September 4, 2018.[71][72]

Mobile versions[]

Following the Chinese publication deal for the Windows version, Tencent Games and PUBG Corporation additionally announced that they were planning on releasing two mobile versions based on the game in the country.[73][74] The first, PUBG: Exhilarating Battlefield, is an abridged version of the original game, and was developed by Lightspeed & Quantum Studio, an internal division of Tencent Games.[75] The second, PUBG: Army Attack, includes more arcade-style elements, including action taking place on warships, and was developed by Tencent's Timi Studio.[76] Both versions are free-to-play, and were released for Android and iOS devices on February 9, 2018.[77][78] The games had a combined total of 75 million pre-registrations, and ranked first and second on the Chinese iOS download charts at launch.[78] Following a soft launch in Canada, an English version of Exhilarating Battlefield, localized simply as PUBG Mobile, was released worldwide on March 19, 2018.[79][80][81]

In China, PUBG Mobile had been awaiting approval by the government for an authorized released, during which the game could only be offered as a public test. However, Tencent's planned release was suspended due to the government approval freeze across most of 2018. By May 2019, Tencent announced it would no longer seek to publish PUBG Mobile in China, but instead would ship a similar battle royale title, Game for Peace that readily meets China's content restrictions, such as eliminating blood and gore.[82]

PlayStation 4[]

With the announcement of the Xbox release, PUBG Corporation stated that there were plans to port to additional platforms, such as the PlayStation 4.[83][84][85] In an interview shortly after Gamescom, Greene said that their deal with Microsoft did not exclude a PlayStation 4 port, but that their focus at the time was only on the Windows and Xbox One version, given the small size of their team.[66][52] When asked about it in January 2018, Kim stated that the team released the game first on the Steam and Xbox Game Preview early access programs as they both easily allowed in-development games to be released and updated over time, which contrasted with Sony's lack of their own early access program, as well as their strict quality control for even completed games.[86] The PlayStation port was officially announced in November, and was released on December 7, 2018. PUBG Corporation studio head Brian Corrigan said that while they had had a small team working on the PlayStation 4 port for some time, it was only until the Xbox One port was mostly completed that they began fully working on the PlayStation port.[87] The PlayStation 4 version of the game includes platform-exclusive customization items, specifically the outfit of Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series, and Ellie's backpack from The Last of Us.[88] A short live-action film to promote the PlayStation 4 release was directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts and starred Jason Mitchell.[89]

Cross-platform play support between the Xbox and PlayStation versions of Battlegrounds was added in October 2019 following a testing period during the prior month.[90][91]

PUBG Lite[]

PUBG Lite is a free version of Battlegrounds that is meant to be better playable on low-end computers by having significant reductions in graphic details and other features, but is otherwise feature complete with the full game. The version is meant to be played in regions where the game's minimum specifications may be difficult for average players to achieve, with a beta launch first releasing in Thailand in January 2019, and in Europe that October.[92][93]

Esports[]

To celebrate the game surpassing two million copies sold, Bluehole announced a 2017 Charity Invitational event, inviting 128 players to compete over their official Twitch.tv channel to raise money for the Gamers Outreach Foundation, with Bluehole matching all donations up to US$100,000.[94] The competition ran in early May 2017, and raised at least US$120,000 from viewers along with Bluehole's US$100,000 match, and served as a prototype for future esports events for the game.[95] During the August 2017 Gamescom event, Bluehole and ESL organized the first Battlegrounds invitational tournament, with a $350,000 prize pool. Separate events were held for solo players, two-player teams, two-player teams fixed to first-person perspective, and four-player squads. Each event featured three matches, with the player or team scoring the highest across all three named winners.[39][96][97]

Greene said that while he had envisioned the battle royale format to be a spectator sport since his ARMA II mod, their approach to making Battlegrounds an esport would be a matter of taking "baby steps". Greene said that they would not actively pursue esports until after the game was fully released and that all major bugs were eliminated. The Gamescom 2017 event demonstrated the issues surrounding the logistics of running a large Battlegrounds tournament with a large number of players involved, and they had worked alongside ESL to explore how to do this effectively in the future. Further, Greene stated there was also the need to establish a format for presenting a Battlegrounds match to make it interesting to spectators, which he thought would take some time to develop given the nature of the emergent gameplay, comparing it to established first-person shooters and multiplayer online battle arena esport games.[98] A 20-team, 80-player tournament produced by Intel took place in Oakland in November 2017, with a prize pool of US$200,000.[99][100]

Reception[]

Battlegrounds received "generally favorable reviews" on all platforms, with the exception of the PlayStation 4 version which received "mixed or average reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic.[101] During both its early access phase and after, the game also surpassed numerous player-count records. Bluehole released statistics for the first four months of release that showed that over ten million rounds of Battlegrounds had been played, effectively equal to more than 25,000 man-years of time.[111] Data by SteamSpy showed that Battlegrounds had surpassed long-standing popular titles in concurrent player count on Steam, such as Fallout 4 and Grand Theft Auto V, eventually overtaking Dota 2, the most played game on the platform for years, in August 2017.[112][113] The following month, the game had its peak concurrent player count reach over 1.3 million, surpassing Dota 2's all-time record of 1.29 set in March 2016.[114][115][116] The game then reached a concurrent player count of two million in October 2017,[117] and three million by the end of the year.[118] The game has also been shown popular in South Korean PC bangs; analysis firm Gametrics reported that Battlegrounds had surpassed Overwatch and became the second-most played game in the country by August 2017, only behind League of Legends,[119] it subsequently surpassed League of Legends by October 2017.[120] Battlegrounds's popularity from Chinese players led to a large increase in users of Steam from that geographic region, and by November 2017, more than half of users knew Chinese (superseding English, which was the primary language in the platform) due to the game's availability.[58]

Several journalists commented on the game's rapid growth towards a large player base for a game that was still in early access. Greene had confidence that the game could reach over a million players within a month, but some of his development team were only anticipating around 200,000 to 300,000 within the first year, and were surprised by its performance in its first month.[121] Greene himself believed that the strong growth was buoyed by non-traditional promotional channels like Twitch streamers and other content creators, which they have since worked to introduce new gameplay elements ahead of public release.[66] IGN's Rad believed that the popularity of the game was due to its fast-paced nature compared to similar type games available at the time, such as H1Z1 and DayZ. She thought that the design balanced the solitary periods when the player is scavenging or sneaking around with those of being in combat with others, and the approach is readily accessible to new players with very little waiting time to get into a new match.[122] Andy Moore for Glixel considered that Battlegrounds's popularity comes from how the game encouraged players to engage due to the situation they are placed in rather than from the player's own disposition, comparing it to the Stanford prison experiment, and thus able to capture the interest of players who may normally eschew these types of games.[123]

Rock Paper Shotgun's Michael Johnson described Battlegrounds as "a tactical shooting sandbox, a story generator, and a horror game all in one", providing some of the "highest highs" in multiplayer gaming as reason for its popularity.[124] Rob Zacny for Waypoint found that Battlegrounds offered the same type of entertainment experience for viewers that many other player-vs-player survival games have, but because of the lack of persistence, players were more likely to experiment with resources rather than hoard them, leading to humorous or unexpected situations that are often absent in survival games and making the title more enjoyable to watch and play, leading to its popularity.[125] Jeff Grubb of Venture Beat considered Battlegrounds as a paradigm shift in the first-person shooter market similar to how Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare also changed the landscape of shooters when it was released in 2007, and believed it did this by being an anti-Call of Duty in terms of pacing and strategy.[126]

Battlegrounds is considered the defining game of the battle royale game genre due to its popularity, even though other games, including Greene's previous mods, were already on the market.[127] After its large early access sales numbers, other games followed with battle royale mechanics, with either existing games that added a battle royale mode or fully new games. Notably, Epic Games updated their in-development title Fortnite, a sandbox-based survival game that included the ability to construct fortifications, to include a battle royale mode that retained the fortification aspects. Known as Fortnite Battle Royale, Epic later released it as a standalone free-to-play game in September 2017. Shorty after its release, Bluehole expressed concerns about the game, acknowledging that while they cannot claim ownership of the battle royale genre, they feared that since they had been working with Epic for technical support of the Unreal engine, that they may have had a heads-up on planned features they wanted to bring to Battlegrounds and could release it first.[128] PUBG Corporation later filed a lawsuit against Epic Games Korea in January 2018, alleging that Fortnite Battle Royale was infringing the copyright of Battlegrounds.[129] However, the lawsuit was closed by PUBG in June 2018 for undisclosed reasons.[130]

Greene had expressed concern on the large number of games that have simply cloned the Battleground mechanics, particularly in China where clones of Battlegrounds are considered a new genre of "chicken-eating game" (based on the "winner winner chicken dinner" line to a match winner in Battlegrounds).[131][132] Greene said "I want this genre of games to grow. For that to happen you need new and interesting spins on the game mode. If it's just copycats down the line, then the genre doesn't grow and people get bored."[127] Greene claimed no ownership of the battle royale or last man standing genres, but believed that the clones were taking some specific mechanics he had developed in Battlegrounds and prior mods, such as the initial parachuting segment or the red-zone bombing runs, and would like to see legislation to give developers such as himself protection against these types of concepts as well as improve creativity as developers invent new approaches to mimic such innovations.[133] Battlegrounds's explosive growth and how it popularized the battle royale genre was considered to be one of the top stories in the video game industry during 2017.[134][135][136]

Prior to release of their mobile versions, PUBG Corporation initiated legal action in the Northern Distinct Court of California against Chinese game publisher NetEase in January 2018, claiming that their mobile games Rules of Survival and Knives Out infringe on Battlegrounds's copyrights. PUBG's lawsuit asserts that Rules of Survival is "a copyrightable audio-visual work, individually and/or in combination with other elements of Battlegrounds", and identified several elements that appear similar in both games. While some of these elements are common features of a battle royale game, PUBG asserted that other elements reference specific facets of Battlegrounds, such as references to chicken for winning a game or using cookware as weapons or armor, makes Rules of Survival imply a connection to Battlegrounds. PUBG seeks both monetary damages and requiring NetEase from further distribution of the games. NetEase, in responding to PUBG's request to Apple to remove the games, denied that their games violated Battlegrounds's copyrights.[137][138] By March 2019, the two companies had reached an undisclosed agreement and were working to get the cases dismissed.[139]

In March 2019, Battlegrounds was banned in the Indian state of Gujarat after the local government decided the game was "too addicting and violent" and an unnecessary distraction during exam season.[140] A number of students caught playing the game were arrested as a result.[141][142] The ban was not renewed in some cities in the state after March as exam season had ended.[140] A similar ban was enacted in Nepal and Iraq in April 2019, with the cited reasons being that the game was harmful to children and teenagers.[143][144] The ban in Nepal was shortly lifted by the country's Supreme Court, stating that the government could not enforce such a ban that interfered with personal freedoms without demonstrating why the ban was necessary.[145] In mid-2019, Jordan and the Indonesian province of Aceh issued similar bans.[146][147]

Sales and downloads[]

Battlegrounds made US$11 million in the first three days of its Windows early access release in March 2017.[148] By the second week of April, the game had sold over one million copies, with a peak player count of 89,000,[149] SuperData Research estimated that the game's April sales exceeded US$34 million, putting it as one of the top 10 highest grossing revenue games for the month and exceeding revenue from Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.[150] By May 2017, the game had sold over two million copies, with total gross revenues estimated at US$60 million.[151][152] Within three months of its early access release, it had surpassed over five million copies sold,[153] and Bluehole announced it had exceeded US$100 million in sale revenue.[154] Battlegrounds reached this four million mark faster than Minecraft, which took over a year to reach similar sales figures while it was in its paid-beta development period.[155]

By September 2017, Bluehole's value, as tracked by a firm that tracks private Korean corporations, increased five-fold from June of that year to a value of US$4.6 billion, primarily due to Battlegrounds.[52] By December 2017, PUBG Corporation reported that there were more than 30 million players worldwide between the Windows and Xbox versions.[156] The research film SuperData estimated that Battlegrounds drew in more than US$712 million in revenue within 2017.[157] By February 2018, the game had sold over thirty million on Steam according to SteamSpy.[158] The following month, Gabe Newell stated that the game was the third highest-grossing game of all time on the platform.[159]

Within three days of going live on the Xbox Live Preview Program in mid-December 2017, Microsoft announced that Battlegrounds had sold more than a million copies on the platform. Alongside this, Microsoft announced that Battlegrounds would be offered as a free add-on for those buying the Xbox One X console through the end of 2017.[160] A month after release, the Xbox version had sold more than four million copies and was the fourth bestselling game in the United States, according to The NPD Group.[161][162] By March 2018, the game had sold forty million copies across all platforms, which had risen to over fifty million by June, averaging over 87 million players daily with over 400 million players in total.[163][164] The mobile version in particular had over 100 million downloads by August 2018,[165] and exceeded 225 million by October 2018,[166] a figure higher than the combined player base for Fortnite at nearly the same point in time. The bulk of these players are in Asian countries such as China and India, where PUBG Mobile was released before Fortnite and can run on lower-powered mobile hardware.[167][168] China has the game's largest player base,[166] and PUBG is the most popular online game in India, as of 2018.[169]

PUBG was the top-selling premium game of 2017,[170] having sold 30 million units worldwide and grossed about $900 million.[171] By June 2018, it had sold more than 50 million units worldwide.[164] PUBG was again the top-selling premium game of 2018, increasing its annual sales revenue to $1.028 billion.[172] In addition, the free-to-play PUBG Mobile has grossed a further $630.4 million as of March 2019.[173]

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, which received 82 million installs on mobile devices.[174]

In Japan, PUBG was the most popular PC game during 2017.[175] PUBG Mobile grossed ¥3.58 billion ($32.42 million) in Japan during 2018.[176] In January 2019, the PlayStation 4 version of Battlegrounds sold 7,447 copies within its first week in Japan, which placed it at number fourteen on the all format sales chart.[177]

Awards[]

While still in early access, Battlegrounds won the "Best Multiplayer Game" and was also nominated for the categories "Game of the Year" and "Best Ongoing Game" at The Game Awards 2017.[178] The game's nomination for "Game of the Year" created some debate, being the first early access title to be named for one of the top industry awards.[179][180] Also, about a month before it was released, the game won "Best Multiplayer Game" and "PC Game of the Year" at the 35th Golden Joystick Awards,[181] whereas its other nominations were for "Studio of the Year" (PUBG Corporation) and "Ultimate Game of the Year".[182] It also won the "Breakout Game of the Year" award at PC Gamer's end of the year awards,[183] whereas its other nomination was for "Game of the Year".[184] Polygon ranked the game second on their list of the 50 best games of 2017,[185] and The Verge named it one of their 15 Best Games of 2017,[186] while Entertainment Weekly ranked it seventh on their "Best Games of 2017" list.[187]

Following release, Battlegrounds has been nominated and won several industry awards, including winning Best Multiplayer Game at the 2017 Golden Joystick Awards and The Game Awards 2017, and Best Action Game at the 2017 D.I.C.E. Awards.

Year Award Category Result Ref
2017 35th Golden Joystick Awards Best Multiplayer Game Won [181][182]
PC Game of the Year Won
Ultimate Game of the Year Nominated
The Game Awards 2017 Best Multiplayer Game Won [178]
Best Ongoing Game Nominated
Game of the Year Nominated
2018 New York Game Awards 2018 Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year Nominated [188]
21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Action Game of the Year Won [189][190]
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay Won
Game of the Year Nominated
NAVGTR Awards Game, Esports Nominated [191][192]
Italian Video Game Awards 2018 Innovation Award Won [193]
2018 SXSW Gaming Awards Esports Game of the Year Won [194][195]
Excellence in Design Nominated
Excellence in Multiplayer Won
Most Promising New Intellectual Property Nominated
Trending Game of the Year Won
Video Game of the Year Nominated
18th Game Developers Choice Awards Best Design Nominated [196][197]
Innovation Award Nominated
Game of the Year Nominated
14th British Academy Games Awards Evolving Game Nominated [198][199]
Multiplayer Nominated
Original Property Nominated
Famitsu Awards Excellence Prize Won [200]
Rookie Award Won
Game Critics Awards 2018 Best Ongoing Game Nominated [201][202]
2018 Teen Choice Awards Choice Videogame Nominated [203][204]
BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards Best Game Nominated [205]
36th Golden Joystick Awards Still Playing Award Nominated [206][207]
Mobile Game of the Year (PUBG Mobile) Won
Xbox Game of the Year Nominated
The Game Awards 2018 Best Mobile Game (PUBG Mobile) Nominated [208]
Gamers' Choice Awards Fan Favorite Multiplayer Game Nominated [209]
Fan Favorite Battle Royale Game Nominated
Fan Favorite Mobile Game (PUBG Mobile) Nominated
Australian Games Awards Shooter of the Year Nominated [210]
2019 Italian Video Game Awards 2019 Best Mobile Game (PUBG Mobile) Nominated [211]
37th Golden Joystick Awards eSports Game of the Year (PUBG Mobile) Pending [212]

The game has also gained multiple award from individual press. Battlegrounds won the award for "Best PC Game", "Best Multiplayer", and "Best Spectator Game" at the IGN Best of 2017 Awards,[213][214][215] whereas its other nominations were for "Game of the Year"[216] and "Best Shooter".[217] It also won the award for "Best PC Game" at Destructoid's Game of the Year Awards 2017.[218] The game also won Giant Bomb's "Best Multiplayer", "Best Surprise", "Best Debut", and "Game of the Year" awards, and was classified as a runner-up for the "Best Moment or Sequence" award for the "chicken-eating game".[219][220][221][222] Eurogamer ranked PUBG fourth on their list of the "Top 50 Games of 2017",[223] while GamesRadar+ ranked it 12th on their list of the 25 Best Games of 2017.[224] Game Informer gave it the award each for "Best Competitive Multiplayer" and "Best Shooter" in their Best of 2017 Awards,[225][226] and also for "Best Competitive Multiplayer", "Best Multiplayer Map" (Erangel), "Best Innovation", and "Shooter of the Year" in their 2017 Shooter of the Year Awards.[227] In their Reader's Choice Best of 2017 Awards, the game won the "Best Competitive Multiplayer" award, and was runner-up in the "Best Microsoft Exclusive" and "Best Shooter" categories.[228][229][230]

Notes[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Carter, Chris (June 9, 2017). "Understanding Playerunknown's Battlegrounds". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 9, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  2. Forward, Jordan. "PUBG new map – all the latest details on the upcoming snow map, Vikendi". PCGames. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  3. Scott-Jones, Richard (July 13, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds gets first-person-only servers next month". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on July 13, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Bradley, Alan (April 27, 2017). "Designing the giant battle royale maps of Playerunknown's Battlegrounds". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on April 27, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  5. 5.0 5.1 Marks, Tom (January 21, 2015). "Battle Royale modder Brendan Greene on his official H1Z1 mode". PC Gamer. Future US. Archived from the original on May 19, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Batchelor, James (April 26, 2017). "PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds dev: "I want to find the next me"". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  7. Nieva, Jason (April 9, 2019). "PUBG's Latest Update Adds Flare Gun, Two New Vehicles". Player.One. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  8. 8.0 8.1 Kerr, Chris (May 7, 2017). "'Skin economy is a good thing,' says Playerunknown's Battlegrounds creator". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  9. Goslin, Austen (March 22, 2018). "PUBG bringing in an Event Mode to answer Fortnite's". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  10. Greene, Brendan (February 15, 2017). "INVEN Game Conference Talk". PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. Archived from the original on June 18, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 McCarthy, Caty (August 9, 2017). "Meeting PlayerUnknown, and the Fiction that Inspired the Year's Biggest Surprise Hit". US Gamer. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 Smith, Graham (July 5, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds interview: New modes, modding plans, and his meteoric rise". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  13. 13.0 13.1 Winkie, Luke (April 7, 2017). "Meet Brendan 'Playerunknown' Greene, Creator of the Twitch Hit 'Battlegrounds'". Glixel. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 Forward, Jordan (May 19, 2017). "Getting to know PlayerUnknown". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  15. Livingston, Christopher (February 28, 2017). "Playerunknown's Battlegrounds could have a bright future in the battle royale genre he created". PC Gamer. Future US. Archived from the original on June 17, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 "Inside the company behind sensation Playerunknown's Battlegrounds". Venture Beat. June 27, 2017. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  17. Sung-won, Yoon (April 3, 2017). "Korean survival shooter tops global game chart". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on April 3, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  18. Hall, Charlie (July 10, 2017). "Playerunknown's Battlegrounds inks exclusive content deal with Facebook". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 22, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  19. Makuch, Eddie (January 24, 2018). "PUBG Theme Music Now Available To Stream, Buy". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  20. Higton, Ian (April 10, 2017). "Battlegrounds' PlayerUnknown and the future of Battle Royale". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  21. Bluehole, Inc., June 30, 2017. "Bluehole and PLAYERUNKNOWN Reveal PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS Open World Strategic Shooter" (Press release). Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170816022004/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/276149/Bluehole_and_PLAYERUNKNOWN_Reveal_PLAYERUNKNOWNrsquoSBATTLEGROUNDS_Open_World_Strategic_Shooter.php. Retrieved August 15, 2017. 
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Peel, Jeremy (June 29, 2017). "The secret to PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' success? There isn't one". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on June 29, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 Hall, Charlie (June 20, 2017). "A fireside chat with the creator of Playerunknown's Battlegrounds". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  24. Minotti, Mike (September 29, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is getting its own subsidiary from Bluehole". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  25. Byford, Sam (August 8, 2018). "PUBG developer admits PUBG is broken with 'Fix PUBG' campaign". The Verge. Archived from the original on August 8, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  26. Castello, Jay (November 18, 2018). "Playerunknown's Battlegrounds declares FIX PUBG a success, talk new development directions". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  27. Yin-Poole, Wesley (March 13, 2019). "Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene moves on from PUBG". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  28. Batchelor, James (April 1, 2019). "Brendan Greene: "I'm done with battle royale"". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  29. Grayson, Nathan (April 10, 2017). "The Modder Behind PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, A Game That Just Sold A Million Copies". Kotaku. Archived from the original on April 11, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  30. Horti, Samuel (October 15, 2017). "PUBG's anti-cheat system is banning more than 6,000 players a day". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  31. Castello, Jay (October 6, 2018). "Playerunknown's Battlegrounds has banned over 13 million cheaters". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  32. Grayson, Nathan (December 21, 2017). "Majority of Battlegrounds Cheats Are From China, PlayerUnknown Says [UPDATE]". Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  33. Tack, Daniel (May 11, 2017). "Exclusive Details On New Maps Coming To PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds". Game Informer. Archived from the original on May 12, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  34. Smith, Graham (July 13, 2017). "Playerunknown's Battlegrounds is easy in ways other games are hard". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on July 13, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  35. Plunkett, Luke (July 13, 2017). "The Origins Of Battlegrounds' "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner" Line". Kotaku. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  36. D'Anastasio, Cecila (November 15, 2017). "People Are Gambling With Battlegrounds Skins Now". Kotaku. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  37. Billcliffe, James (December 5, 2017). "PUBG might get new cosmetic items, but only after launch and never "anything that affects the gameplay"". VG247. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  38. Kerr, Chris (May 4, 2018). "Battlegrounds item trading shut down due to marketplace abuse". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  39. 39.0 39.1 O'Conner, Alice (July 25, 2017). "Playerunknown's Battlegrounds getting Battle Royale-ier". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on July 25, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  40. Carter, Chris (May 29, 2017). "PlayerUnknown plans on adding replays and possibly a campaign for Battlegrounds". Destructoid. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  41. 41.0 41.1 Hollister, Sean (July 28, 2017). "PlayerUnknown: A chat with the man behind 2017's viral PC game". CNet. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  42. Alexandra, Heather (May 22, 2017). "Players Are Turning Battlegrounds Into A Zombie Nightmare". Kotaku. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  43. Reilly, Luke (June 14, 2017). "Battlegrounds Getting Player-Controlled Zombies". IGN. Archived from the original on June 14, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  44. 44.0 44.1 44.2 44.3 Donaldson, Alex (June 27, 2017). "How PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds went from scrappy mod to one of the games of 2017". VG247. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  45. Hall, Charlie (December 4, 2017). "PUBG has dominated 2017, here's how it happened". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  46. 46.0 46.1 Livingston, Christopher (March 23, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is now available on Steam Early Access". PC Gamer. Future US. Archived from the original on June 23, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  47. Livingston, Christopher (March 9, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds will hit Early Access on March 23, and here's the official trailer". PC Gamer. Future US. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  48. Hood, Vic (July 7, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds full launch delayed to end of 2017". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  49. Nunneley, Stephany (April 1, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds receives first patch with more coming on a regular basis". VG247. Archived from the original on April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  50. Hood, Vic (August 16, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds patches to be released less often". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  51. Villas-Boas, Antonio. "The biggest game of 2017 is finally finished, and it will launch on December 20". Business Insider. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  52. 52.0 52.1 52.2 Nakamura, Yuji; Kim, Sam (September 27, 2017). "One Man's Journey From Welfare to World's Hottest Video Game". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  53. Chen, Lulu Yilun (October 29, 2017). "World's Hottest PC Game Could Get Locked Out of China". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  54. Jones, Ali (October 30, 2017). "The Chinese government is discouraging the development of battle royale games". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  55. Handrahan, Matthew (November 22, 2017). "Tencent to publish PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds in China". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  56. Lemon, Marshall (November 22, 2017), "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has been approved in China, with a few changes", VG247, archived from the original on November 22, 2017, https://web.archive.org/web/20171122161352/https://www.vg247.com/2017/11/22/playerunknowns-battlegrounds-has-been-approved-in-china-with-a-few-changes/, retrieved November 22, 2017 
  57. Tebay, Andy (August 14, 2017). "Kakao signs contract with Bluehole to publish Korean version of PUBG". VentureSquare.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  58. 58.0 58.1 58.2 Hall, Charlie (December 22, 2017). "PUBG creator on the rise of China and the future of Battlegrounds". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 26, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  59. Bailey, Dustin (January 12, 2018). "PUBG won't region lock China, but new ping limits might prevent cross-region matchmaking". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on January 12, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  60. Lulu Yilun Chen, Yuji Nakamura, and Sam Kim (January 15, 2018). "The World's Top-Selling Video Game Has a Cheating Problem". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2018. {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  61. Saed, Sherif (March 22, 2018). "PUBG's Brendan Greene responds to calls to region lock Chinese players: "Region locking just doesn't work"". VG247. Archived from the original on March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  62. Jones, Ali (October 4, 2018). "After months asking for region locks, PUBG players are mad about region locks". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  63. Grubb, Jeff (June 11, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds comes to Xbox One X". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on June 11, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  64. Lemon, Marshall (June 11, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' console launch will be Xbox One exclusive". VG247. Archived from the original on June 12, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  65. Statt, Nick (August 20, 2017). "Microsoft will be the publisher of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds when it comes to Xbox". The Verge. Archived from the original on August 20, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  66. 66.0 66.1 66.2 Handrahan, Matthew (September 6, 2017). "PUBG: "When you ask about growth on PC, I just look at League of Legends"". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  67. Hall, Charlie (December 7, 2017). "PUBG team got help from Gears of War developers The Coalition for Xbox port". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  68. Knezevic, Kevin (October 31, 2017). "PUBG Xbox One Release Date Confirmed". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 31, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  69. Saed, Sharif (December 7, 2017). "Microsoft is dropping supply crates in Australia to celebrate PUBG launch on Xbox One". VG247. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  70. Billcliffe, James (December 7, 2017). "You can buy Xbox exclusive PUBG cosmetics before the game's even out". VG247. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  71. Grubb, Jeff (August 21, 2018). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds leaves Xbox Game Preview on September 4". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  72. Kzenevic, Kevin (September 4, 2018). "PUBG Launches On Xbox One, Adds Sanhok Map And More In 1.0 Update". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  73. McAloon, Alissa (November 27, 2017). "Tencent working to bring Battlegrounds to mobile in China". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  74. Brightman, James (November 27, 2017). "PUBG going mobile with Tencent's help". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  75. Higton, Ian (February 17, 2018). "Here's how PUBG on mobile phones compares to the original game". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  76. Wong, Alistair (December 1, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Gets Two Mobile Versions In China". Siliconera. Archived from the original on December 2, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  77. Arif, Shabana (February 9, 2018). "PUBG's Chinese Mobile Games Are Now in Early Access". IGN. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  78. 78.0 78.1 Madnani, Mikhail (February 9, 2018). "Both of Tencent's 'PUBG' Mobile Games Are Now Available on the App Store in China for Free". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  79. Saed, Sherif (March 15, 2018). "PUBG Mobile gets surprise release in the West". VG247. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  80. Chalk, Andy (March 15, 2018). "PUBG Mobile comes to the West with a 'soft launch' in Canada". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  81. Knezevic, Kevin. "PUBG Mobile Out Now For Free In The US And Other Regions". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  82. Jones, Ali (May 8, 2019). "PUBG Mobile re-released as bloodless 'Game of Peace' so Tencent can monetise it in China". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  83. Ashcroft, Brian (March 30, 2017). "Battlegrounds producer Chang-han Kim reportedly told Inven". Kotaku. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  84. Grubb, Jeff (July 6, 2017). "Bluehole built PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' for livestream viewers". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  85. Hood, Vic (August 25, 2017). "Microsoft and PlayerUnknown dance around the thorny issue of Battlegrounds console exclusivity". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  86. Saed, Sharif (January 2, 2018). "PUBG CEO wants the game on every platform, says Sony is "very strict" about quality". VG247. Archived from the original on January 2, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  87. Goslin, Austin (November 13, 2018). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds coming to PS4 in December". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  88. Yin-Poole, Wesley (November 13, 2018). "PUBG hits PS4 with Nathan Drake and Ellie items". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  89. Bankhurst, Adam (November 6, 2018). "Here's A Brand New Pubg Short Film By Metal Gear Solid Movie Director Jordan Vogt-roberts". IGN. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  90. Knezevik, Kevin (August 19, 2019). "PUBG Adding Cross-Play On PS4 And Xbox One". GameSpot. Retrieved August 19, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  91. Kerr, Chris (October 2, 2019). "PUBG cross-play between Xbox One and PS4 has launched". Gamasutra. Retrieved October 2, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  92. Saed, Sherif (January 25, 2019). "PUBG Lite is a free-to-play version for low-spec PCs, limited to Thailand for now". VG247. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  93. Brown, Fraser. "PUBG Lite's open beta expands to Europe next week". PC Gamer. Retrieved 10 October 2019. {{cite web}}:
  94. Williams, Mike (May 2, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Celebrates 2 Million Sold With Charity Tournament". USGamer. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  95. "Playerunknown's Battlegrounds' 2017 Charity Invitation raises over $220,000 for Gamers Outreach". Esports-Pro.com. May 5, 2017. Archived from the original on May 8, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  96. Grubb, Jeff (August 23, 2017). "Gamescom PUBG Invitational winners get a golden frying pan trophy". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  97. Nunneley, Stephany (July 25, 2017). "First PUBG Invitational will take place at gamescom in August, sales from vanity crates will go toward prizes". VG247. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  98. Handranah, Matthew (August 31, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is taking "baby steps" into esports". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  99. ESL. "PUBG | Intel Extreme Masters". en.intelextrememasters.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  100. "Home | IEM Oakland 2017 PUBG Invitational qualifiers". pubg.iemoakland.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  101. 101.0 101.1 "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  102. "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 28, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  103. "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  104. "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Mobile for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  105. Tack, Daniel (December 20, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds". Game Informer. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  106. Higham, Michael (December 22, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  107. Rad, Chloi (January 5, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Review". IGN. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  108. Forward, Jordan (December 22, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds PC review". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  109. Plante, Chris (December 20, 2017). "PUBG review: Playerunknown's Battlegrounds is imperfectly perfect". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 20, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  110. Williams, Mike (December 22, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) Review: First Man Standing". US Gamer. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  111. Rad, Chloi (August 14, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds: Total Player Killcount and Other Crazy Stats". IGN. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  112. McAloon, Alissa (July 31, 2017). "Playerunknown's Battlegrounds claims record for most peak players in a non-Valve game". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  113. Pereira, Chris (August 27, 2017). "PUBG Becomes The Biggest Game On Steam, Briefly Surpassing Dota 2". GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  114. Donnelley, Joe (September 8, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has passed 1 million concurrent players". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  115. Hester, Blake. "More Than a Million People Are Playing 'PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' Right Now". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  116. Brown, Fraser (September 16, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds beats Dota 2's highest concurrent player record". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on September 17, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  117. Pereira, Chris (October 11, 2017). "PUBG Passes Another Major Milestone On Steam". GameSpot. Retrieved October 11, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  118. Horti, Samuel (December 29, 2017). "PUBG hits 3 million concurrent players (and 1.5 million cheater bans)". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  119. Foxall, Sam (August 31, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds surpasses Overwatch in South Korea's PC bangs". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  120. Saed, Sharif (October 19, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds overtakes League of Legends as the most played game at Korean PC bangs". VG247. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  121. Hestor, Blake (September 11, 2017). "Brendan "Playerunknown" Greene's whirlwind year". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  122. Rad, Chloi (April 18, 2017). "Why 1 Million People Play PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds". IGN. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  123. Moore, Andy (April 21, 2017). "Learning to Love the Masochism of 'Playerunknown's Battlegrounds'". Glixel. Archived from the original on April 22, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  124. Johnson, Michael (May 2, 2017). "The tension & elation of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on May 3, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  125. Zacny, Rob (April 24, 2017). "A Murder-Car in 'BATTLEGROUNDS' Captures Why Its Mayhem Works". Waypoint. Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  126. Grubb, Jeff (July 3, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is the most important shooter since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  127. 127.0 127.1 Powell, Steffan (December 12, 2017). "PubG creator says games need 'better protection' from copycat titles". BBC. Archived from the original on December 13, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  128. Livingston, Christopher (September 23, 2017). "PUBG exec clarifies objection to Fortnite Battle Royale: 'it's not about the idea itself, it's about Epic Games'". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  129. Nakamura, Yuji; Kim, Sam (May 29, 2018). "Most Popular Game on the Planet Accused of Copyright Violation". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on May 30, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  130. Kim, Sam (June 26, 2018). "Copyright Lawsuit Dropped Against Fortnite Creators, Ending Legal Battle". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  131. Wawro, Alex (November 28, 2017). "Inside the PUBG-fueled rise of 'chicken eating games' in China". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  132. Plunkett, Luke. "The Origins Of Battlegrounds' "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner" Line". Kotaku. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  133. Benson, Julian (December 21, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' creator says legal protection "will encourage creativity"". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  134. Sapieha, Chad (December 14, 2017). "The year in games: Five news stories and trends that dominated the industry in 2017". National Post. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  135. Graft, Kris (December 18, 2017). "5 trends that defined the game industry in 2017". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  136. Campbell, Colin (December 28, 2017). "These were the biggest stories in video games in 2017". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  137. Mackovech, Sam (April 5, 2018). "PUBG creators finally decide a copycat game has gone too far, file suit". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  138. Hester, Blake (April 5, 2018). "PUBG Corp. Sues Mobile Dev For Copyright Infringement". Glixel. Archived from the original on April 6, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  139. Valentine, Rebekah (March 25, 2019). "PUBG Corp, NetEase settle copyright lawsuit". GamesIndsutry.biz. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  140. 140.0 140.1 Mukherjee, Amritanshu. "PUBG ban lifted from Ahmedabad, police still worried about side effects of the game". India Today. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  141. "PUBG Mobile Ban: You Will Get Arrested For Playing The Battle Royal Game in These Cities in India". News18. Archived from the original on March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  142. Liao, Shannon (March 14, 2019). "Police in India arrested ten students for playing PUBG". The Verge. Archived from the original on March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  143. Sharma, Gopal (April 11, 2019). "Nepal bans online game PUBG citing negative impact on children". Reuters. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  144. Chalk, Andy. "Fortnite and PUBG are now banned in Iraq". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  145. Holt, Kris (April 23, 2019). "Nepal's Supreme Court reverses national ban on 'PUBG'". Engadget. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  146. "Jordan bans online game PUBG over 'negative effects'". CNA. July 7, 2019. Archived from the original on July 7, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  147. "Aceh ulemas demand Indonesia ban online battle game PUBG". The Jakarta Post. June 23, 2019. Archived from the original on July 7, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  148. Kerr, Chris (March 27, 2017). "Playerunknown's Battlegrounds pulls in over $11 million in three days". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  149. Livingston, Christopher (April 10, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has sold 1 million copies". PC Gamer. Future US. Archived from the original on July 25, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  150. Burns, Ben (May 25, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds made $34 million in April, more than Overwatch or CS:GO". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  151. Porter, Matt (May 2, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Hits 2 Million Copies Sold". IGN. Archived from the original on May 2, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  152. Gilbert, Ben (May 4, 2017). "The crazy new game that pits 100 people against each other on a deserted island will come to consoles". Business Insider. Archived from the original on May 6, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  153. Nunneley, Stephany (March 15, 2018). "PUBG has over 5 million players on Xbox One, players gifted with celebratory jacket". VG247. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  154. Grubb, Jeff (June 23, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds surpasses $100 million in revenue". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on June 23, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  155. Sims, David (July 11, 2017). "The Apocalyptic Appeal of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on July 15, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  156. McAloon, Alissa (December 21, 2017). "Now out of Early Access, Battlegrounds crosses 30M players". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on December 26, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  157. Calvin, Alex (January 30, 2018). "SuperData: Global games market brought in $108.4bn in 2017, PUBG generated $712m". PC Games Insider. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  158. Hall, Charlie (February 15, 2018). "PUBG hits 30M sold on PC, but player counts are down". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  159. "Gabe Newell: 'Hooray! Valve's going to start shipping games again'". PC Gamer. March 8, 2018. Archived from the original on March 9, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  160. Minotii, Mike (December 15, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds sells 1 million Xbox One copies in 3 days". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  161. Hall, Charlie (January 25, 2018). "PUBG celebrates 4M players on Xbox One with free loot crates". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  162. Grubb, Jeff (February 21, 2018). "January 2018 NPD: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds hits top 5 on Xbox alone". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  163. Takahashi, Dean (March 23, 2018). "PlayerUnknown Brendan Greene points to PUBG's future after its smashing first year". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  164. 164.0 164.1 McWhertor, Michael (June 19, 2018). "PUBG reaches 50M copies sold, 400M total players". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  165. LeFebvre, Rob. "'PUBG' mobile app surpasses 100 million downloads". Engadget. Archived from the original on August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  166. 166.0 166.1 "PUBG Mobile hits $100 million slower than Fortnite because of China". VentureBeat. October 24, 2018. https://venturebeat.com/2018/10/24/pubg-mobile-hits-100-million-slower-than-fortnite-because-of-china/. 
  167. Lao, Shannon (December 18, 2018). "PUBG mobile has as many players as Fortnite". The Verge. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  168. Jones, Ali (December 19, 2018). "PUBG Mobile has as many players as Fortnite". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  169. "Charted: India’s obsession with Chinese online game PUBG". Quartz. December 10, 2018. https://qz.com/india/1489469/tencents-pubg-is-driving-indian-gamers-crazy/. 
  170. "2017 YEAR IN REVIEW: DIGITAL GAMES AND INTERACTIVE MEDIA" (PDF). SuperData Research. January 25, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 11, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  171. Makuch, Eddie (January 2, 2018). "PUBG Passes 3 Million Concurrent Users On PC". GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pubg-passes-3-million-concurrent-users-on-pc/1100-6455835/. Retrieved January 11, 2019. 
  172. "Market Brief – 2018 Digital Games & Interactive Entertainment Industry Year In Review". SuperData Research. Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  173. "Report: Battle Royale genre on mobile has grossed over $2B worldwide [Sensor Tower"]. GameDaily. May 17, 2019. https://gamedaily.biz/article/874/report-battle-royale-genre-on-mobile-has-grossed-over-2b-worldwide-sensor-tower. Retrieved May 30, 2019. 
  174. "Q4 and Full Year 2018: Store Intelligence Data Digest" (PDF). Sensor Tower. January 16, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  175. "PUBG is World's 6th Most Popular PC Game, and #1 in Japan". The Esports Observer. August 17, 2017. https://esportsobserver.com/pubg-pc-game-stats-newzoo/. Retrieved May 22, 2019. 
  176. "2018年アプリ収益予測@Game-i". #セルラン分析/ゲーム株『Game-i』 . Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  177. Romano, Sal (January 23, 2019). "Media Create Sales: 1/14/19 – 1/20/19". Gematsu. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  178. 178.0 178.1 Alexander, Julia (December 8, 2017). "The Game Awards forgot to give PUBG its only award last night". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  179. Bailey, Kat (November 14, 2017). "Opinion: Nominating PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds for Game of the Year is a Terrible Idea". US Gamer. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  180. Grubb, Jeff (November 14, 2017). "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and GOTY: It's about art vs. product". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  181. 181.0 181.1 Weber, Rachel (November 17, 2017). "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild scores big at the 35th Golden Joystick Awards presented with OMEN by HP". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  182. 182.0 182.1 Gaito, Eri (November 13, 2017). "Golden Joystick Awards 2017 Nominees". Best in Slot. Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved December 25, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  183. PC Gamer staff (December 18, 2017). "Breakout Game 2017: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  184. PC Gamer staff (December 8, 2017). "Games of the Year 2017: The nominees". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  185. Polygon staff (December 18, 2017). "the 50 best games of 2017". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  186. Verge staff (December 15, 2017). "The 15 best games of 2017". The Verge. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  187. Morales, Aaron; Abrams, Natalie (December 29, 2017). "The Year's Best Games". Entertainment Weekly (1496–97): 92–94. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171227235511/http://ew.com/gaming/best-video-games-2017/7-playerunknowns-battlegrounds-xbox-one-pc/. Retrieved December 27, 2017. 
  188. Whitney, Kayla (January 25, 2018). "Complete list of winners of the New York Game Awards 2018". AXS. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  189. Makuch, Eddie (January 14, 2018). "Game Of The Year Nominees Announced for DICE Awards". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  190. Makuch, Eddie (February 22, 2018). "Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Wins Game Of The Year At DICE Awards". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  191. "Nominee List for 2017". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. February 9, 2018. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  192. "Horizon wins 7; Mario GOTY". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. March 13, 2018. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  193. "Italian Video Game Nominees and Winners 2018". Italian Video Game Awards. March 14, 2018. Archived from the original on March 21, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  194. McNeill, Andrew (January 31, 2018). "Here Are Your 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards Finalists!". SXSW. Archived from the original on February 1, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  195. IGN Studios (March 17, 2018). "2018 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners Revealed". IGN. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  196. Gamasutra staff (January 5, 2018). "Breath of the Wild & Horizon Zero Dawn lead GDC 2018 Choice Awards nominees!". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  197. Makuch, Eddie (March 21, 2018). "Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Wins Another Game Of The Year Award". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  198. deAlessandri, Marie (March 15, 2018). "Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice at forefront of BAFTA Games Awards nominations". MCV. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180316161255/https://www.mcvuk.com/business/hellblade-senuas-sacrifice-at-forefront-of-bafta-games-awards-nominations. Retrieved March 16, 2018. 
  199. "British Academy Games Awards Winners in 2018". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. March 13, 2018. Archived from the original on April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  200. Brian (April 27, 2018). "Famitsu Award 2017 winners announced". Nintendo Everything. Archived from the original on June 18, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  201. Faller, Patrick (June 28, 2018). "E3 2018: Game Critics Awards Nominations Revealed: Anthem, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Top The List". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  202. Watts, Steve (July 2, 2018). "Resident Evil 2 Wins E3 Game Critics Awards' Top Honor". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  203. Cohen, Jess (June 22, 2018). "Teen Choice Awards 2018: Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther and Riverdale Among Top Nominees". E!. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  204. Ramos, Dino-Ray (August 12, 2018). "Teen Choice Awards: 'Riverdale', 'Infinity War', 'Black Panther' Among Top Honorees – Full Winners List". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  205. "Little Mix, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Sigrid and Jonas Blue lead the performances for BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards 2018". BBC. September 10, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  206. Hoggins, Tom (September 24, 2018). "Golden Joysticks 2018 nominees announced, voting open now". The Daily Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gaming/news/golden-joysticks-2018-nominees-announced-voting-open-now/. Retrieved October 7, 2018. 
  207. Sheridan, Connor (November 16, 2018). "Golden Joystick Awards 2018 winners: God of War wins big but Fortnite gets Victory Royale". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  208. Grant, Christopher (December 6, 2018). "The Game Awards 2018: Here are all the winners". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 7, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  209. Glyer, Mike (November 19, 2018). "2018 Gamers' Choice Awards Nominees". File 770. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  210. "Your 2018 Winners". Australian Games Awards. December 19, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  211. "Italian Video Game Awards Nominees and Winners". Italian Video Game Awards. April 11, 2019. Archived from the original on March 21, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  212. Tailby, Stephen (September 20, 2019). "Days Gone Rides Off with Three Nominations in This Year's Golden Joystick Awards". Push Square. Retrieved September 21, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  213. "Best of 2017 Awards: Best PC Game". IGN. December 20, 2017. Archived from the original on December 25, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  214. "Best of 2017 Awards: Best Multiplayer". IGN. December 20, 2017. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  215. "Best of 2017 Awards: Best Spectator Game". IGN. December 20, 2017. Archived from the original on December 26, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  216. "Best of 2017 Awards: Game of the Year". IGN. December 20, 2017. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  217. "Best of 2017 Awards: Best Shooter". IGN. December 20, 2017. Archived from the original on December 25, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  218. Makedonski, Brett (December 20, 2017). "Destructoid's award for Best PC Game of 2017 goes to..." Destructoid. Archived from the original on January 2, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  219. Giant Bomb staff (December 26, 2017). "Game of the Year 2017 Day Two: Music, Surprise, Multiplayer, and Mess". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  220. Giant Bomb staff (December 27, 2017). "Game of the Year 2017 Day Three: World, Wolfenstein, Moments, and PLEASE STOP". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  221. Giant Bomb staff (December 28, 2017). "Game of the Year 2017 Day Four: Debut, New Characters, Story, and Styyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyle". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  222. Giant Bomb staff (December 29, 2017). "Game of the Year 2017 Day Five: Best, Worst, Cast, and Capture". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  223. Eurogamer staff (December 30, 2017). "Eurogamer's Top 50 Games of 2017: 10–1". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on December 31, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017. {{cite web}}:
  224. GamesRadar staff (December 22, 2017). "The best games of 2017: Page 2". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on March 26, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  225. Game Informer staff (January 4, 2018). "Game Informer's Best Of 2017 Awards (Page 2)". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  226. Game Informer staff (January 4, 2018). "Game Informer's Best Of 2017 Awards (Page 4)". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 5, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  227. Bertz, Matt (January 6, 2018). "The 2017 Shooter of the Year Awards". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  228. Cork, Jeff (January 4, 2018). "Reader's Choice Best Of 2017 Awards". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  229. Cork, Jeff (January 4, 2018). "Reader's Choice Best Of 2017 Awards (Page 2)". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018. {{cite web}}:
  230. Cork, Jeff (January 4, 2018). "Reader's Choice Best Of 2017 Awards (Page 3)". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018. {{cite web}}:

External links[]

  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.
  • PUBG Mobile


Cite error: <ref> tags exist for a group named "n", but no corresponding <references group="n"/> tag was found

Advertisement