Last year was interesting for PUBG Corp, the team working on PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. According to its latest financial reports, it garnered $920 million in revenue, $310 million of which was profit. The split is even more interesting, with PC garnering $790 million in revenue while mobile accounted for $65 million, and consoles making up $60 million.
In terms of revenue, Asia made up 53 percent of the split. Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad further added on Twitter, “That the reason that mobile revenue is low here is because Tencent obtained the license to develop and publish the mobile version.” Considering the Xbox One version received a fair amount of hype and has been a success for Microsoft, it’s interesting seeing the mobile version outpacing consoles in terms of revenue.
The other interesting bit is the gap between revenue and profit, which seems to indicate $610 million was spent. However, this figure almost certainly accounts for partner fees, platform licensing fees, esports prize pools, marketing, and development for multiple versions. Either way you look at it, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is still insanely popular despite the continued frenzy over Fortnite Battle Royale and rise of Apex Legends. Time will tell what this year has in store.
Note that the reason that mobile revenue is low here is because Tencent obtained the license to develop and publish the mobile version.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) April 19, 2019
I assume $300m is also from platform/partner fees maybe?
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) April 19, 2019
