PUBG Mobile Revenue Grew 166% Last Week, Surpassing Fortnite for the First Time on iOS

Key insights

5 takeaways

01
During the week of November 19, 2018, PUBG Mobile worldwide player spending grew 166% to $12 million, marking its first time surpassing Fortnite in revenue since monetization began in April.
02
PUBG Mobile's $12 million weekly revenue outperformed Fortnite's iOS earnings by 43% during the same period.
03
On the iOS platform specifically, PUBG Mobile generated an average of $1.7 million per day compared to $1.2 million for Fortnite.
04
PUBG Mobile out-earned Fortnite on iOS for two consecutive days, November 21 and 22, 2018.
05
The 166% revenue surge for PUBG Mobile represents a 2.7x increase in worldwide player spending compared to the previous seven-day period.

Summary

PUBG Mobile experienced a significant surge in financial performance during the week of November 19, 2018, marking a pivotal shift in the competitive landscape of the mobile battle royale genre. Worldwide player spending for the title increased by 166 percent compared to the previous week, rising from $4.5 million to an estimated $12 million. This growth allowed the game to surpass its primary rival, Fortnite, in total revenue for the first time since the implementation of monetization features in April 2018.

The analysis, derived from proprietary store intelligence data, highlights that PUBG Mobile outperformed Fortnite by 43 percent in total gross revenue during this period. On the iOS platform specifically, PUBG Mobile generated approximately $1.7 million per day, compared to $1.2 million for Fortnite. Furthermore, PUBG Mobile managed to out-earn its competitor on the Apple App Store on November 21 and 22, representing the first instance of the title achieving daily revenue dominance over Fortnite on the same platform.

This performance underscores a rapid acceleration in monetization for the Tencent-developed title during the Black Friday shopping period. By capturing a larger share of consumer spending, the game effectively narrowed the revenue gap on iOS to just 20 percent for the week, signaling a heightened level of market competitiveness. These findings reflect a broader trend of aggressive growth for PUBG Mobile as it successfully challenged the established market position of Fortnite within the mobile gaming sector.