Mobile gaming and KPOP collide! Back in September, mobile giant Player Unknown’s Battle Grounds (more colloquially known as PUBG) launched a collaboration event with the iconic Korean pop group BLACKPINK. PUBG made it’s debut back in March of 2017, where it quickly gained traction amongst gamers for its addictive gameplay loop and well executed concept. Known as a Battle Royale (BR) game, a large number of players are loaded into a large cargo plane, which flies over an island which is host to various buildings and locales. Players jump from the plane when they’re ready, and parachute into their chosen location. They must scavenge the map for armor, guns, melee weapons, and other such instruments, and make use of what they find to eliminate other players on the island until only one victor (or one squad of victors) remains. Due to its fairly simple concept, and accessible gameplay, the game quickly took off. This was in no small part helped by video game streamers, commanding an insurmountable number of viewers.
Many credit this game as what started the BR boom, owing to the success of similar experiences that launched after this game did. Games like Fortnite Battle Royale, Apex Legends, Call of Duty Warzone and so many others at least in part benefitted from PUBG introducing the genre to the masses at large. Battle Royale games account for some of the most popular games on the market today. PUBG Mobile, a version of the game for smartphones, which launched in 2018, accumulated nearly $3.5 billion and 734 million downloads in the time since its release.
And for the uninitiated, BLACKPINK is a 4 woman pop music group hailing from South Korea. Consisting of musical artists Kim Ji-soo, Jennie Kim, Roseanne Park, and Lalisa Manoban, they rose to popularity in the mid 2010’s after the group was formally put together. Having gained numerous accolades and swiftly becoming one of the most popular KPOP groups both in and outside of South Korea, it’s no wonder that the people in charge of PUBG would leap at the opportunity to collaborate with such a bespoke group. PUBG itself having a similar rise to fame since its release. Two great icons of entertainment coming together is a win-win for both groups, and is sure to stir up fans of both into a fun filled frenzy.
During the event, which took place from September 24th to October 8th, players of the mobile version of PUBG could partake in in-game missions to earn support points, which they could then use to send gifts to each of the members of BLACKPINK (whose IDs for the game were revealed via social media),and in turn receive rewards in game if they sent in enough gifts. Players could receive special in-game outfits, the Adorable Panda suit and Killer Cadet set, permanently for their account. Furthermore, participants were given the chance to win a copy of BLACKPINK’s latest album, signed by Jennie, Lisa, Jisoo, and Rose. Fans uploaded screenshot of the PUBG MOBILE x BLACKPINK crossover to social media with the hashtag #PUBGMxBLACKPINK to increase their odds of winning that signed copy.
To spice things up even further, special collaboration care packages dropped from the sky in each match, marked with a special pink smoke to signify it contained special collab goodies! Furthermore, the drop plane was painted pink and bared the BLACKPINK logo for the duration of the event. Truly, BLACKPINK fans were battling in style! The event also included the single “How you like that?’ from their new album, which played in the player lobby while waiting for a match to start. No doubt fans of the group wished the waiting period could last longer!
But the fun didn’t end there. Coming November 13th, the BLACKPINK crew are set to premiere a broadcast of themselves playing the game as part of this collab, known as the PUBG MOBILE x BLACKPINK FUN MATCH. Fans can watch the event at 13:00 (UTC+0). The event can be watched on PUBG Mobile’s official Facebook and Youtube channels, and will also feature streamers Beenu, Kim Hee Chull, and DDEDDEDDEDDE.