PUBG Made $920 Million In 2018, 85 Percent Of Earnings From PC

PUBG might be playing second fiddle to Fortnite in terms of players and overall revenue, but that doesn’t mean it’s no pushover either.

According to Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad, PUBG Corp. earned $920 million in total revenue last year, including global game sales and microtransactions. PUBG Corp. is well known as the company that was specifically made to manage the success of the widely renowned PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.

What’s surprising is that even though its market domination was halted shortly after the release of Fortnite – which is now a billion-dollar hit – PUBG is still alive and kicking, so much so that there have been bans across countries for what governments believe to be “negative effects” to health. What’s not so surprising is that Asia was the dominant force behind PUBG’s continued success. The Asian market combined was responsible for 53 percent of the total revenue, which is $487.6 million. Most of PUBG’s earnings come from the PC on Steam, which makes sense in a place like Asia, where gaming cafes are very popular. The PC platform made up 85 percent of the total 2018 revenue, or $790 million, while its console counterparts didn’t fare so well, making up only 6.2 percent or $60 million. This can be attributed to the fact that Fortnite is very popular on consoles, especially in the west.

Mobile PUBG is very much far behind as well, accounting for only $65 million, but these are mostly just licensing fees. Tencent, the mobile giant, acquired the ability to license the game on all mobile platforms.

Compared to the much more recent Apex Legends, PUBG is faring better in terms of popularity as it has managed to reach such a huge market in Asia, particularly among the Chinese. It’s therefore not surprising to see that the profit margin for the company sits at a very healthy 34 percent, with profits reaching $310 million for the previous fiscal year.

In the near future, expect these numbers to be even bigger; the company is looking to rake in more cash once PUBG goes free to play in a new lite version that could come later this year.