All about PUBG: A case study
PUBG: A player V/s player shooter game that went on to become the most famous Esport in India.
Origin
There is no denying the fact that the craze for PUBG is incomprehensible in today’s time. The roots of the game can be traced back to South Korea. A South Korean company named Bluehole Studio published and developed the game originally. The brains behind the game were of the man called Brenden Greene. He got the idea of the game from a Japanese movie, ‘Battle Royale’, and the rest is HISTORY. Who thought watching a movie could be turned into something this huge?
Evolution
PUBG wasn’t originally a mobile game. It was an online PC game that later went on to be played on XBox and XBox One and PlayStation 4. Tencent Games released a mobile version of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds(PUBG), available for Android and iOS. This was the real move in the direction of PUBG’s unbound success. But due to some tensions with China, PUBG was banned in India in September 2020. Currently, Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) launched by Krafton, the South Korean video game developer company has taken the place of PUBG in India.
PUBG: The Esport
PUBG was India’s biggest Esport game which has now been replaced by BGMI. From getting popular just because of the hype around the game to actually gaining the largest community of gamers and organizers, PUBG paved a remarkable path for itself in India. With numerous Esports tournaments being conducted from time to time, the prize pools for PUBG are only going one way and that’s UP. As mentioned in Outlook “India’s esports industry is set to quadruple in size to Rs 1,100 crore by 2025 from Rs 250 crore at present — clocking a compounded annual growth rate of 46%, according to an EY report.” This shows a clear picture of the future of Esports in India. BGMI India series, an open tournament conducted last year, had a prize pool of 1 crore. There are many more such tournaments that are being conducted by different organizers with stupendous prize pools time and again. So, it’s needless to say that once PUBG and now, BGMI has already made a mark on the Indian Esports industry and will continue to do so in the coming times.
What made PUBG stand out?
PUBG broke all the records after being released in India. Let’s talk about a few reasons that made it reach the position it is at today.
The ultra-realistic in-game features:
The mind-blowing graphics and in-game features of the game are capable of keeping you hooked to the game throughout. The aesthetics of the game is obviously incomparable to any other Battle Royale game. The maps, weapons, vehicles, drones, and everything is a treat to the player’s eyes.
A Battle Royale Game:
Everybody on the internet prefers multiplayer Battle Royale games these days. From its easy communication features, portability, popularity, easy to play to the most important factor, its availability on mobiles, the presence of all these features made PUBG stand out amongst all other games.
The minimal requirements:
Since the time PUBG became available on mobiles, it broke down all the hurdles that gamers usually faced while playing games. It’s an inclusive game. Everybody felt attracted to the game because of the bare minimum requirements the game required. With an inbuilt chat system that was accessible on almost every device, PUBG got the upper hand in the Esports industry.
Free to play:
The game is free to download and play, which makes it a better choice. For more rewards in the game, players can earn coins for participation and completing various challenges — like login every day, traveling a particular distance, or surviving a particular length of time. These coins can also be used to buy other items in the game like clothing.
Customizable mobile controls:
The most interesting part about PUBG is the easily customizable control and sensitivity features of the game. From the option of changing the color of blood to saving the sensitivity settings on the cloud so that you can later download them on another device and apply them.
PUBG Mobile became so popular that it got its own web series. Yes, you heard that right. Just when we thought a game couldn’t become that popular, PUBG Mobile got its own web series called ‘Dosti ka naya maidan’ which was posted on PUBG Mobile India’s official youtube channel. The series explores how PUBG MOBILE plays a unifier across age groups creating possibilities to nurture various kinds of friendships. The series portrayed a beautiful lesson on friendship while marketing the game too.
Given the current status of the Esports Industry in our country and the popularity that PUBG once got and what BGMI is now getting, it is definitely going to take both the game and Indian Esports industry to a whole new level in the coming times. Let’s see what the game has in store for its huge community in the coming times.
Thank you for taking out time to read this piece. We’ll soon be back with another interesting blog for you all.
Until then, let’s #liveitforgaming.
