PUBG Mobile Joins the Esports World Cup

PUBG Mobile will be a key title in the Esports World Cup this summer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

PUBG Mobile Esports announced Wednesday that the popular mobile version of Krafton’s battle royale game will take part in the inaugural Esports World Cup as a key title. Teams will compete for a share of a $3M USD total prize pool and vie to be crowned the first-ever Club World Champion this summer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The multi-day competition is being branded as the PUBG MOBILE World Cup (PMWC), and will replace the summer tournament, the PUBG MOBILE World Invitational.

Organizers of the Saudi-government-backed competition describe the Esports World Cup as an “eight-week festival that brings together a mix of platforms, genres, and fans for the largest-ever celebration of gaming as a global sport.”

PUBG Mobile joins a growing list of major game titles taking part in the 2024 edition of the Esports World Cup including Honor of Kings, StarCraft II, Counter-Strike 2, Free Fire, and Dota 2, with more titles to be announced.

The Esports World Cup—formerly known as Gamers8—is operated by the Esports World Cup Foundation, the Saudi Esports Federation, and other companies that are owned and operated by the Saudi Arabian government’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment fund, including ESL FACEIT Group. 

On a related note, ESL FACEIT Group revealed this week that it is cutting approximately 15% of its global workforce, or around 250-300 people, according to what sources tell The Esports Advocate.

ESL FACEIT Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of Savvy Games Group, which is in turn owned by the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund. EFG is home to a number of esports-related operations including tournament organizer ESL, tournament platform FACEIT, esports and gaming festival company DreamHack, esports production company Esports Engine, and esports and gaming analytics firm Vindex.