PlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundson PC and console has a different development track thanPUBG Mobile, similar to its first-person shooter competitorCall of Duty. WhilePUBGSeason 10 began last week, introducing a new map called Haven that features a faction of AI-controlled fighters,PUBG Mobilehas primarily been focused on its winter-themed Frost Festival event.
Frost Festival began on December 9, allowing players to explore a snow-covered battle royale map and collect unique costumes such as “Wishing Treeman,” which turns characters into a light-strung tree. However, this increased attention may have also resulted in more players using cheats and mods inPUBG Mobile.
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Between December 11 and 17, there were 2,127,454 accounts permanently suspended, according to a weekly report published byPUBG Mobileon Twitter. Correlation is not causation, so it’s unclear whether the holiday event specifically led to this high amount of activity, but it is a substantial increase from the 1.5 million accounts suspended between December 4 and 10. The largest portion of bans last week came fromBronze users, the lowest rank in the game; whereas only two percent were Conqueror, the highest rank.
This is not the first time thatPUBG Mobilebans have hit a multi-million amount of users within one week. Between August 20 and 27, 2020,PUBG Mobilealso banned over two million users. The largest percentage of bans in the December sweep, 31 percent, came from users modifying their character models. X-Ray vision, auto-aim, speed hacks, and modifications to damage area also accounted for a high amount of bans, with 13 percent being “other.”
The mobile version of the popular battle royale remains one of the most popular titles in its market, despite how frequently huge account bans have to take place.PUBG Mobileis one offive mobile games that made over $1 billion in 2020(counted through December 14), and took the overall top spot aboveHonor of Kings,Pokemon GO,Coin Master, andRobloxby earning over $2.6 billion.
That being said, it has not been entirely smooth sailing for Tencent’s mobile title this year. The game was banned in India for a few months due to privacy and cybersecurity concerns. However, in November it was announced thatPUBG Mobilewould return to Indiawith an entirely new app tailored to the country.
PUBGhas had an interesting year in other regards. After the announcement ofThe Callisto Protocolat The Game Awards 2020, a new horror game being led by the creator ofDead Space, it was revealed that the upcoming title will beset in the same universe asPlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
PUBG Mobileis available for Android and iOS devices.
