PlayerUnknown's Battleground (PUBG) Mobile
By David Chapman,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Fast-paced mobile version of violent multiplayer shooter.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this app.
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
PlayerUnknown's Battleground (PUBG) Mobile
Community Reviews
Based on 15 parent reviews
Report this review
Report this review
What’s It About?
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUND (PUBG) MOBILE takes the popular winner-take-all, kill-or-be-killed battle royale game -- in which your main goal is simply to outlast the competition -- and shrinks it down for portable play. After parachuting onto an isolated island, you'll need to tap into your survival skills and scavenge weapons, tools, and equipment from the area, all while staying one step ahead of the competition. You'll play the role of both the hunter and the hunted, with up to 99 other players searching for the right way to take you out of the equation permanently. And it's not just the other competitors you'll have to contend with: The border of the play area sporadically shrinks, forcing players to hightail it to a new section of the map or to get trapped out of bounds and die. With a gun in your hand and a target on your back, will you fall quickly in a hail of bullets? Or will you be the last player standing?
Is It Any Good?
This mobile version of the popular PC/console game keeps the fast-paced action while improving on the gameplay. PUBG is one of those games that's hard to put down: The console version was like an action movie with a nonsensical plot and lots of gunfire. Now, take that experience, streamline it for mobile devices, and you've got PlayerUnknown's Battleground (PUBG) Mobile. Its biggest surprise isn't just how well the game works on portable devices but how, in some ways, it actually improves on the original. The default setup feels more natural than expected. It accounts for left- or right-handed players, gives quick access to secondary equipment (grenades, bandages, etc.), and lets players quickly swap between things like firing mode, aiming, and sprinting. Players automatically pick up and equip certain items, saving a lot of time and frustration that comes with trying to navigate inventory menus on the fly. That said, players do still have to dive into their backpacks to equip weapon accessories like scopes or extended magazines.
And as good as PlayerUnknown's Battleground (PUBG) Mobile may be, it's still not perfect. While the controls are versatile, they can be cramped when playing on a smaller phone screen. You may find yourself accidentally firing your weapon while adjusting your player's pose (kneeling or going prone), unintentionally giving away your position. And while the game has an aim assist, adjusting automatically if you're "close enough" to hitting your target, it's still hard to spot other players from a distance. There's also the difficulty curve, which starts small while you're at lower levels before climbing steeply without warning. That's not to say that it stops being fun; it just gets really hard really quickly when you're thrown into games with really good players. And finally, the game can be a hefty drain on your mobile device's data and battery; a single match can easily take 20 to 30 minutes or more, and you need to be connected the whole time. Despite these hiccups, PlayerUnknown's Battleground (PUBG) Mobile is a fantastic port of the popular shooter, and it hardly skips a step when compared to the original.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in video games. What are some of the ways that violence in games like PlayerUnknown's Battleground can impact real-life behavior? Does it make a difference when the violence is against real-life competitors?
Talk about toxic behavior online. What are some examples of toxic behavior kids may face online? What are some good ways to deal with that behavior? If you're looking for additional advice on helping your kids be a considerate gamer online, check out our advice on raising a good human in a digital world.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
- Pricing structure: Free
- Release date: March 19, 2018
- Category: Action Games
- Topics: Adventures
- Publisher: Tencent Games
- Version: 0.3.3
- Minimum software requirements: Requires iOS 9 or higher; Android 4.3 and up
- Last updated: February 11, 2019
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
Where to Download
Our Editors Recommend
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate