PUBG Mobile’s five strangest collaborations (and why they matter)

• PUBG Mobile has recently introduced its latest major collab with Naruto Shippuden
• But it's also had plenty of wild and utterly out-there collaborations before
• So, why is that? Well, let's look at their five strangest and try to guess why

I think it’s fair to say that Fortnite are the king of the collab, being able to draw in everyone from world-famous musicians to movie franchises and indie hits, whereas the other top battle royale, PUBG, and PUBG Mobile, have had a more erratic journey to the top. Although you can argue over which is the better game, I think it’s hard to dispute that PUBG Mobile have had much stranger collabs than Fortnite.

But with their most recent collaboration introducing none other than the mega-hit anime Naruto Shippuden, it doesn't seem like PUBG Mobile is settling for these partnerships, but is actively pursuing them. So why is that?

Well, that's what we're going to try to answer here. Let's look at some of the stranger ideas for collaborations, and why exactly the folks at Krafton pick such seemingly random partners to work with. Or at least my theory as to why...

Tesla

Now here’s one which has aged poorly, back when Elon Musk was simply a divisive eccentric billionaire, and not, well, whatever he is now. Either way, while the Tesla Model Y and Roadster are decent-enough-looking cars to drive onto the battleground, the Cybertruck remains an ugly, boxy and frankly goofy example of why bigger doesn’t equal better.

Bruce Lee

Ethics of the whole thing aside, can we all agree it’s a bit odd to have dead celebrities as a brand? Either way, Bruce Lee, sporting his famous apparel from Game of Death, also graced the battleground in this rather strange event that offered new cosmetics and martial arts trials. Awesome? Yes. A little morbid? Definitely.

Grubhub

What’s more dangerous than surviving the ruins of Erangel? Well, apparently being a Grubhub driver, if this crossover is any indication. And yes, this not only provided a cosmetic for your car but also allowed you to engage in a limited-time event to act out the part of a Grubhub driver. Presumably, being shot is not usually a risk on the job.

KFC

Finger-lickin’ good! I recall a few memes circulating around the time of this collaboration that bemoaned the difference between Fortnite’s crossovers with hit movie franchises like the Avengers and Star Wars, while PUBG Mobile languished with greasy fast food. Admittedly, it’s not the first time KFC have dipped into the world of video games to promote their brand, but it’s still a bit on the strange side.

American Tourister

The last (as I recall) truly weird collaboration PUBG Mobile had was a real doozy. American Tourister are a luggage manufacturer from America that produces, well, luggage. The kind of high-end stuff that only dedicated travellers or people with too much money tend to buy. You can’t get more different than a fast-paced, action-packed multiplayer shooter and a suitcase.

So why all of these?

But why even have them in the first place? Well, to be honest, I think it’s down to a difference in audience. Let’s look at an example: one of Fortnite’s most recent collabs was with The Amazing Digital Circus, a popular indie animation series that released its finale in cinemas. Meanwhile, PUBG Mobile have chosen Naruto Shippuden as their latest major event, alongside a long-term collab with Ferrari.

The Amazing Digital Circus is undoubtedly popular… in the Western Hemisphere. But in the East it’s much less well-known. Conversely, Naruto still has widespread appeal, and Ferrari is, well, a brand that has made itself the face of fast, flashy cars in gaming as far back as Outrun! The difference is that Krafton are looking to appeal to a massive audience, and one which couldn’t care less about what’s trendy elsewhere.

We can see that with PUBG Mobile’s frequent collaborations with K-pop idols and bands. While the genre has begun to cut through in the West (Fortnite quickly swooped in for a KPDH collab after all), it’s mostly super-popular in countries like China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines, which is also where PUBG Mobile finds the majority of its audience.

And that audience is truly massive, with PUBG Mobile already clocking in a billion downloads back in 2021. If even a fraction of those are often playing, then that's a truly huge audience that (theoretically) crosses every social strata; hence the supercar and high-fashion collaborations.

So, while it all may seem confusing to us, there is method behind the madness, at least as far as I reckon.