PlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundscontinues to prove a staggering success, even among the increasingly competitive Battle Royale genre. Tuesday morning PUBG Corp. announced the online multiplayer shooter had passed over 400 million registered players across PC, Xbox One, and mobile, among other impressive statistics. To celebrate its achievements, PUBG Corp. is offering the first PC discount forPlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundssince its 1.0 launch on PC, a 33% discount to $19.99 via Steam.
On top of the almost unbelievable 400 million registered players ofPUBG, PUBG Corp. also revealed a daily total of 87 million active players. For perspective,World of Warcraftannounced a grand total of100 million total accountsin 2014, ten years after it originally launched.PUBGis running almost that same number of players every single day. It’s nigh on unbelievable, but given the popularity of Battle Royale games these days it’s also just the reality of these things anymore.
The final statistic that PUBG Corp. shared was thatPlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundshas sold more than50 million copies. It’s an oddity of a statistic in the context of the others already provided. Only 50 million copies sold despite almost 90 million active players and 400 million active accounts. Free to play mobile games are just that popular (and are likely more profitable than their PC and console counterparts).
To paraphrase a popular quote, reports ofPlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundsdeath have been greatly exaggerated. A news story that made the rounds two weeks ago claimed thatPUBG’s player-base had halvedsince its peak. Clearly, whateverPUBG’s numbers currently are compared to its “peak,” the game is still doing unbelievably well.
PUBG’s initial wave of success, never mindFortnite’s success since, is nigh on incomparable to the definitions of success typically used for games. These are player counts unlike anything ever seen before. Player count aside, it’s not even worth trying to imagine the kind of profits PUBG Corp. and Epic Games are bringing in as a result of success. And with a majority of players seemingly coming from mobile now, which tends to have higher profit margins than PC and console, those profits rise even higher.
As far as celebrations go, now seems as good a time to have one as any. PUBG Corp. and Bluehole have a lot to be thankful for. Those yet to pick upPUBGon PC can get in on the celebration, too. The 33% off sale, dropping the price to $19.99, will be available through July 5.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundsis available now on PC, Xbox One, and mobile devices.
