At just 1.2% of global earnings, PUBG’s India revenue was ‘chicken dinner’

• Since its inception, PUBG garnered just $41.2 million in player revenues from India as compared to $3.5 billion generated globally, according to Sensor Tower

• A Google-KPMG projected online gaming industry in India to touch $1.1 billion by 2021

New Delhi: “Winner winner, chicken dinner” a phrase used to proclaim victory, especially in gambling, penetrated the pop culture aided by the now-banned PlayerUnknown’s Battleground (PUBG) Mobile gaming app. It appeared on the screens every time a player beat his opponents to emerge victorious in the popular battle royale shootout game. However, ‘chicken dinner’ is exactly what comes to mind, if one is to look at India revenues of the hitherto massively popular app in India.

India may have been PUBG Corp’s biggest market in terms of number of users, but its revenue share from the country stood at a puny 1.2% of global revenues, according to Sensor Tower. Out of $3.5 billion generated globally in its lifetime through in-app spending from around the world, the company earned a mere $41.2 million, which is just 1.2% of its global revenue, according to Sensor Tower’s estimates. It is to be noted that in-app revenue which form player revenue are separate from advertising revenue.

In India, downloads of flagship and Lite versions of PUBG gaming app account for 24% of its global downloads.

“So while PUBG Mobile has a large player base in India, revenue from the country is relatively small. What’s important to note, however, is for the Indian mobile market, it’s actually a huge success revenue-wise (compared to other apps),” said Craig Chapple, Mobile Insights Strategist, EMEA at Sensor Tower.

Despite low share in overall revenue, at $19.9 million player revenue, the hugely popular app was the top-grossing game in India between January 1, 2020 and August 31, 2020, accoding to an ET report. The app had approximately 40 million users, and around 175 million downloads in India until it was banned.

According to experts cited in the report, internet companies flock to India not to fill their coffers with revenue but to get a valuation boost owing to a mammoth user base that India offers.