PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds:
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. A version for the Stadia streaming platform was released in April 2020. Battlegrounds is one of the best-selling and most-played video games of all time. The game had sold over 70 million copies by 2020, with PUBG Mobile having been downloaded over 600 million times.
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. A version for the Stadia streaming platform was released in April 2020. Battlegrounds is one of the best-selling and most-played video games of all time. The game had sold over 70 million copies by 2020, with PUBG Mobile having been downloaded over 600 million times.
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.
Personal Computer:
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. 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. 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. However, some changes were made to make sure it aligned with socialist values and traditional Chinese morals. In South Korea, the game is marketed and distributed by Kakao Games.
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. 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. 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. 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 encountered 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. Greene also identified that players can easily get around such region locks using virtual private networks, making this approach ineffective. PUBG Corporation eventually added region-based matchmaking by October 2018, though players still reported issues with connectivity and slow matchmaking.
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.
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. 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. 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. 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 encountered 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. Greene also identified that players can easily get around such region locks using virtual private networks, making this approach ineffective. PUBG Corporation eventually added region-based matchmaking by October 2018, though players still reported issues with connectivity and slow matchmaking.
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.
Mobile Version:
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. 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. The second, PUBG: Army Attack, includes more arcade-style elements, including action taking place on warships, and was developed by Tencent's Timi Studio. Both versions are free-to-play, and were released for Android and iOS devices on February 9, 2018. The games had a combined total of 75 million pre-registrations, and ranked first and second on the Chinese iOS download charts at launch.Following a soft launch in Canada, an English version of Exhilarating Battlefield, localized simply as PUBG Mobile, was released worldwide on March 19, 2018.
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 re-release the game under the title, Game for Peace that readily meets China's content restrictions, such as eliminating blood and gore. A version meant for lower-end mobile devices which features a smaller map made for 60 players, PUBG Mobile Lite, was released on July 25, 2019. This had support for high FPS gameplay on multiple Android devices.
Support for 90FPS gameplay was added for select OnePlus devices in August 2020.
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 re-release the game under the title, Game for Peace that readily meets China's content restrictions, such as eliminating blood and gore. A version meant for lower-end mobile devices which features a smaller map made for 60 players, PUBG Mobile Lite, was released on July 25, 2019. This had support for high FPS gameplay on multiple Android devices.
Support for 90FPS gameplay was added for select OnePlus devices in August 2020.
Sales and Download:
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. As of 2019, PUBG Mobile has reached 555 million players worldwide. As of early 2020, he mobile game's largest markets were India with 116 million (21%) downloads, China with 108 million (19%) downloads, and the United States with 42 million (8%) downloads.
In Japan, PUBG was the most popular PC game during 2017.PUBG Mobile grossed ¥3.58 billion ($32.42 million) in Japan during 2018. 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. As of December 2019, the PC and console versions of the game have sold over 60 million copies, in addition to PUBG Mobile having crossed 600 million downloads. By July 2020, computer and console sales had reached 70 million.
In Japan, PUBG was the most popular PC game during 2017.PUBG Mobile grossed ¥3.58 billion ($32.42 million) in Japan during 2018. 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. As of December 2019, the PC and console versions of the game have sold over 60 million copies, in addition to PUBG Mobile having crossed 600 million downloads. By July 2020, computer and console sales had reached 70 million.
PUBG Banned:
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.A number of students caught playing the game were arrested as a result. The ban was not renewed in some cities in the state after March as exam season had ended. 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. 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. In mid-2019, Jordan and the Indonesian province of Aceh issued similar bans.
On July 1, 2020, Battlegrounds was banned in Pakistan by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority citing the reasons that the game is addictive, wastage of time and poses serious negative impact on physical and psychological health of the children after receiving various complaints from different segments of society and Lahore High Court's directions to look in the matter. However the ban is temporary till further orders from the court.The game continued to remain banned in Pakistan for a month. A meeting was held on July 30, 2020 between PTA and legal representatives of Proxima Beta who addressed the queries raised by authority and emphasized on continued engagement and a comprehensive control mechanism after which the ban was lifted from Battlegrounds.
Amidst the ongoing 2020 China–India skirmishes, the Indian government banned PUBG Mobile along with more than 100 other Chinese apps, most made by Tencent and Netease, on September 2, 2020, asserting the apps were "stealing and surreptitiously transmitting user data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India". India was PUBG Mobile's largest market with the country accounting for 175 million downloads and 24% of global users.
On July 1, 2020, Battlegrounds was banned in Pakistan by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority citing the reasons that the game is addictive, wastage of time and poses serious negative impact on physical and psychological health of the children after receiving various complaints from different segments of society and Lahore High Court's directions to look in the matter. However the ban is temporary till further orders from the court.The game continued to remain banned in Pakistan for a month. A meeting was held on July 30, 2020 between PTA and legal representatives of Proxima Beta who addressed the queries raised by authority and emphasized on continued engagement and a comprehensive control mechanism after which the ban was lifted from Battlegrounds.
Amidst the ongoing 2020 China–India skirmishes, the Indian government banned PUBG Mobile along with more than 100 other Chinese apps, most made by Tencent and Netease, on September 2, 2020, asserting the apps were "stealing and surreptitiously transmitting user data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India". India was PUBG Mobile's largest market with the country accounting for 175 million downloads and 24% of global users.
GUNS:
Comments
Post a Comment