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PUBG Mobile is partnering with USC Games to help train the next wave of creators

The smartest collaboration yet

PUBG Mobile is partnering with USC Games to help train the next wave of creators
  • PUBG Mobile is teaming up with the USC Games Program
  • WoW will be part of USC’s Games as a Service and Live Operations course
  • The best projects will be showcased at the USC Games Expo in May 2026

PUBG Mobile’s collaboration streak has been wild lately. We’ve seen everything from Dying Light: The Beast and Sonic the Hedgehog to Skibidi Toilet. But now the battle royale is taking a far more academic turn, partnering with the University of Southern California’s USC Games program to support the next generation of developers.

Starting January 2026, PUBG Mobile’s creation platform World of Wonder will officially be part of USC’s Games as a Service and Live Operations course. Seriously! Instead of students just reading old textbooks, they’ll get to design, test, and then publish their own playable creations right inside PUBG Mobile, where real players will give them feedback.

It’s hands-on experience that completely smashes the old idea that gaming is just a distraction. By including a massive live platform like this in a top university’s curriculum, gaming is finally getting the academic respect it deserves, moving from a simple hobby to a serious tool for teaching design and iteration.

Projects from the course will debut at the USC Games Expo in May 2026, and outstanding students will even earn interviews for PUBG Mobile’s summer internship program. It’s not just a cool class project; it’s a genuine career pipeline, connecting academic creativity with one of the world’s biggest live-service games.

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PUBG Mobile says it’s already partnered with over 50 universities globally, supporting student creators with internships, professional training, and even competitive prize pools. In World of Wonder alone, over 4.4 million maps have been built so far, clocking a jaw-dropping 33 billion matches, all part of the platform’s push toward an open co-creation ecosystem that’s just as much about imagination as survival.

It seems fitting, then, that one of the world’s top gaming programs is joining in. Because if gaming’s taught us anything, it’s that the best way to level up is to share the controller.

If you’re into battle royales like PUBG Mobile that keep evolving, take a look at our list of the best battle royales on Android!

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Tanish Botadkar
Tanish Botadkar
Tanish is a freelance writer who's an absolute Marvel nerd. If he's not writing, he's probably rewatching anything related to Marvel so that he can spam his friends with theories. And if not that, he can be found gaming on his trusty PS4. While gaming is a passion for him, he also loves science and hopes to become a neuroscientist one day.