You can’t buy anything in the Chinese version of PUBG Mobile
Tencent can't put microtransactions in their game's biggest market
In a little over half a year, PUBG Mobile has been downloaded more than 225 million times and made US$100 million in total revenue worldwide.
But not a dime of that came from China -- its single biggest market, with more than a third of all downloads.
PUBG, the battle royale pioneer
PUBG Mobile, like many smartphone games, is free to download and pay -- choosing to get the game into the hands of as many gamers as possible, and then charging them for cosmetic items. You can’t buy anything that’ll affect gameplay, but you can buy things that change the way you look. It might not seem all that attractive, but to many players it is -- and it’s a huge source of revenue for many mobile games.
In the international version of PUBG Mobile, that stuff is expensive. We managed to spend US$10 to open three loot boxes and take part in one lucky draw. By the end, we were rewarded with a printed T-shirt, two Halloween-themed masks and a graffitied frying pan.