Calling PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds or PUBG a popular game would be an understatement, to say the least. The game has already sold millions of copies and is available on PC, Xbox and mobile. Talking to UK based publication, Express, PUBG creator, Brendan ‘PlayerUnknown’ Greene talked about the future of the game. During the recent PUBG Invitational in Berlin, Greene said that a five-year plan is in place for PUBG eSports. However, the developers will not immediately focus on eSports. The first year plan revolves around finding a working format for eSports while improving the core gameplay experience for gamers.
PUBG Corporation announced a five-year plan to establish Regional Leagues around the world and start a competitive e-sports Global Tournament for their popular title PlayersUnknown’s Battlegrounds. The company broke the news on July 24, a day before the opening of the biggest e-sports event for the game yet: PUBG Global Invitational, Berlin. Having achieved some tremendous success worldwide, the game’s creators plan on capitalising on it via this move. PUBG Corporation plans on starting e-sports league in North America, China, Korea and Europe by 2019. They further plan on forming professional e-sports leagues in other regions, starting from 2020.
The league will work on the relegation format where the best teams from each regional league will be sent to the World Championship to fight it out for the ultimate title. PUBG’s creators plan to profit from the in-game purchases that will be available for all the regular users. A part of the money will also be given to the competing teams but how much that share will actually be is as yet undisclosed.
To test out the in-game purchase, the revenue sharing initiative will be tried out this year at PUBG Global Invitational (PGI), Berlin. Fans will be able to purchase in-game items inspired by the 20 teams participating this year. PUBG Corporation expects a major chunk of the money to come in via advertising, sponsorship and media rights.
The format of the tournament is quite interesting. Not only will it let small teams make an impact in their region but it may also allow them to advance to the major leagues. The relegation format adopted from sports is unlike the one you usually see being practiced by other eSports tournaments. PUBG Corporation plans on investing over $116 million for the initiative this year.
The company’s primary aim, however, is to create a PUBG eSports league which is self-sustainable and allows the teams to profit as well. It also plans on administering consistency in the rules worldwide.
Apart from this, they also want to create a better experience for viewing the contest. The game is soon adopting a stronger system for detailed storytelling along with huge investments to make the spectator system better for the viewers. Ultimately the success will depend on the number of viewers willing to spend time watching the PUBG eSports tournament across the globe.
Games like Counter Strike and FIFA already have eSports leagues, which have been a huge hit in the past. Even though PUBG falls into a gaming genre that has not yet seen a major eSports tournament event until the PGI just this year, it shows immense promise to transform in a competitive game.
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