The iconic sports event will begin in September 2022 in China and will feature PUBG MOBILE for the first time, giving the best players in Malaysia and Asia the chance to showcase their skills on the world stage!
PUBG MOBILE, co-developed by Lightspeed and Quantum Studios of Tencent Games and KRAFTON, has been selected as one of the eight games that will be included in the official esports program for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. This is the first time PUBG MOBILE has been included as an event in the Asian Games. The Asian Games will run from September 10th to September 25th 2022, with competitors playing the PUBG MOBILE Asian Games Version for their chance to win gold.
The Asian Games is a multi-sport event that’s held every four years, in which Asia’s best athletes compete. Malaysians have competed in every edition since the 1954 games winning 63 golds, 101 silvers and 148 bronze medals. The event is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the second-largest event of its kind, after the Olympics. The Asian Games first paved the way for esports representation with its inclusion as a demonstration sport in 2018. In 2020, and now 2022, esports is part of the official program and a medal event. In this 19th Asian Games, PUBG MOBILE will join seven other games in the program: Arena of Valor Asian Games Version, DOTA 2, Dream Three Kingdoms 2, EA SPORTS FIFA branded soccer games, Hearthstone, League of Legends, Street Fighter V.
As one of the largest and most accessible esports programs in the world, PUBG MOBILE’s esports circuit has seen massive growth in 2021 with 14 new leagues and a total prize pool of $15,000,000 USD for the year, the highest in mobile esports history. The game is also popular in Malaysia as demonstrated by the success of the ongoing PUBG MOBILE PRO LEAGUE (PMPL MY/SG) now in its fourth season. PUBG MOBILE’s inclusion in the 2022 Asian Games shows its continued worldwide growth as one of the most popular mobile esports games, having recently surpassed over 1 billion downloads worldwide.
James Yang, Director of Global Esports, Tencent Games, said “It’s an honour for PUBG MOBILE to be included in the 2022 Asian Games. We’re incredibly lucky to have a number of extremely talented players from several countries including Malaysia, and can’t wait to see them compete as part of such a prestigious event. Fans of the game can look forward to exciting competition between the region’s best PUBG MOBILE players as they’re celebrated alongside the best athletes in Asia.”
Minu Lee, the head of the PUBG MOBILE Strategic Marketing Department at KRAFTON, stated, “I’m glad that PUBG MOBILE is selected as the official medal event at the Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, which will be an opportunity for people from all over Asia to come together as one. I hope that fans and players will be able to unite through a new version of PUBG MOBILE, which we developed with PUBG IP specifically for the Asian Games.”
