PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds’ mobile version is now available in the U.S. on both Android and iOS, via Google Play and the App Store, respectively.
Following last week’s soft launch on the Canadian Google Play Store, Tencent’s PUBG Mobile will recreate the 100-player battle-royale experience already available for Windows PC and Xbox One. The App Store description says the game “perfectly recreates” the PC version, and includes voice chat for squad communication. Additional mobile optimizations include the option to auto-pick up items, aim assist and a variety of on-screen controls, including steering and pedals for driving.
PUBG Mobile requires iOS 9.0 or later, and supports iPhones as far back as the iPhone 5S (though an iPhone 6 is recommended). This gives the game an advantage over battle royale competitor Fortnite: Battle Royale, which launched on iOS last Wednesday in preview form, as that only supports iPhone 6S and newer. The Android version supports more than 500 different Android devices, according to the Google Play listing, which recommends using a device running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop or later with at least 2 GB RAM.
PUBG Mobile is available for free, and the game is rated 17-plus. It’s a 892.7 MB download on iOS. Check out a gallery of screenshots, taken on an iPhone 8 Plus, below.
Update: PUBG Mobile is now available in the U.S. on Android as well. We’ve edited the article to reflect this.
Comments
Android user here, I was able to download it off the American Google Play store today. I didn’t use a VPN or anything
By The_Davenporter on 03.19.18 4:45pm
Nice, the 5s support is a big plus for an old phone user like me.
By rogueContinuum on 03.19.18 4:52pm
It has been on the Play store in the US since Saturday. PUBG Mobile by Tencent Games: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tencent.ig
By Shmee on 03.19.18 5:15pm
Played my first game and got 2nd place in squads on my iPad Pro. I got 8 chunks. The gameplay is surprisingly good and inventory management is awesome. It auto equips the best loot so you don’t have to worry too much about flipping through your inventory to equip the best gear. The only time I really opened my bag was to switch an AR compensator for a suppressor. The gunplay is better than I expected, of course aim assist helps. The only issue was I had to mute my team because one of them had a crying infant in the background. I told him to take care of his kid and he told me to f&*^ off and that was the end of voice chat for me.
The only negative besides the inattentive parent was the battery drain. it was pretty bad
By enigma1005 on 03.19.18 5:24pm
It really is sad that in 2018 people still have such a lose concept of what voice chat is. I spent a few hours in Fortnite the other day and had 3 games in a row where people were "letting" us listen to their TV or some argument in the background and wouldn’t respond to the rest of the team asking them to stop.
on mobile I assume this becomes a bit more difficult, but at least for anybody playing on PC; push to talk is your friend. please use it.
By nos.is.lame on 03.19.18 6:32pm
I played PUBG for 30 minutes a few months ago. It took less than one of those minutes to mute voice chat permanently. The generally toxic online player community made the game a non-starter. Good to know there’s no reason to get it on mobile either.
By Lalswing on 03.19.18 6:52pm
Que up solo. That’s what I do. Let’s me play the game at my own pace. Just downloaded today, never played before and earned my first win on my 3rd game played. Take advantage of the learning curve now to put a few rounds in the mouth breathers.
By Ginger Claus on 03.19.18 9:54pm
I agree with that. Go solo, talk to nobody, then their bullshit can’t bother you.
By whydub on 03.20.18 6:12pm
I just searched the Play Store and it isn’t available yet in the US, so I don’t know how you guys are finding it.
I did find a bunch of clone games though.
By Tendoboy84 on 03.20.18 10:28am
You should click one of the links in this article. It takes you straight to the store page.
By Astfgl on 03.20.18 11:37am
I find it strange that Microsoft (the publisher) is letting this game come to mobile devices when it was supposed to be an Xbox and Windows exclusive. Hopefully a PS4 version comes next.
By Tendoboy84 on 03.20.18 10:30am
Microsoft only paid to keep it off playstation for a few months.
By theBeerBaron33 on 03.20.18 11:37am
Just played my first few games, and I now officially get the PUBG hype. It’s so fun!
Although, I think part of why I’m enjoying this so much is because the level of competition isn’t super high at the moment. Maybe I wouldn’t enjoy the pc version because of the higher level of competition? I’m pretty casual when it comes to shooters.
In related news, a Switch version would murder. I’m playing on a relatively old phone (Galaxy S7) so the visuals aren’t great but the gameplay’s still solid, so I think a visually slimmed down Switch version would be fun.
By whydub on 03.20.18 5:53pm
This and Fortnite run surprisingly great on my older Nexus. Of course as a die-hard shooter player on PC the controls and performance make the baby Geezus cry in PUBG mobile, but as a mobile representation of the game it does a remarkably good job.
Both games are a testament to UE4’s portability.
By Krychek on 03.20.18 10:21pm