PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) is out on the Xbox One and Windows PC. While the game is still work in progress on both platforms, its success during the year has resulted in more than a few games borrowing its battle royale stylings. So much so that the game’s creator Brendan Greene takes offence to this, insisting on stronger copyright protection.
While the official PUBG Android games have been announced for China, there’s no sign of anything from PUBG Corp outside of that country. Out of curiosity, we typed in ‘PUBG’ on the Play Store. The results were predictable, with a slew of enterprising developers taking advantage of the battle royale hype with free-to-play, ad and micro-transaction-supported versions of the PC monster hit. If you’re looking for a PUBG-like game, and don’t want to wade through the swamp to find something good, you’re in luck because we’ve already done that. Here are three of the better PUBG clones on Android.
Free Fire – Battlegrounds
This title is the closest to PUBG on mobile phones right now. Instead of 100 players, it’s pared down to 40, but is otherwise on the same lines, complete with the battleground shrinking overtime. The controls aren’t the best, shooting lacks accuracy, and driving is clunky. However it’s visually the most impressive of the bunch and even lets you choose lower settings if you find it to be too taxing on your smartphone. Screenshot(s) of game With an assortment of weapon customisations and items to use, there’s a lot to explore. Weighing in at 235.9MB it can be side-loaded from the developer’s website as well.
Get Free Fire – Battlegrounds via Google Play – free with ads.
Last Battleground: Survival
Sporting a similar art direction to Free Fire, this game has got some nice additions with improved navigation, a frame rate counter, and accurate representation of the latency while playing it. And if you find it hard to find a weapon on landing in other battle royale games, good news because Last Battleground: Survival starts you off with a gun as well. That might change though – with protests from fans, the developer Elex is considering removing them. Screenshot(s) of game If you’re a battle royale purist looking for a smooth, responsive experience and don’t mind the so so presentation, this is worth checking out. It’s rough a 200MB download much like Free Fire. Micro-transactions in Last Battlegrounds: Survival nets you premium currency (starting from Rs. 320 for 300 coins) allowing you to buy cosmetic items and customisations like flags.
Get Last Battleground: Survival via Google Play – free with in-app purchases.
Pixel’s Unknown Battle Ground
Perhaps the most obvious clone on the list with its name and icon, Pixel Unknown Battle Ground merges the PUBG formula with Crossy Road’s now mainstream blocky pixel style. At roughly 50MB, It’s a smaller download than the other two. Throw in auto shooting that makes it easier to play and a wider choice of vehicles including a tank along with a smaller map compared to the other two games and the end result is sparse game world but tighter, frantic encounters. Screenshot(s) of game Much like Last Battlegrounds: Survival you can buy in-game currency to customise your character to look like a clown, a hippie or even the Royal Guard, starting from Rs. 60 for 710 cash.
Get Pixel’s Unknown Battle Ground via Google Play – free with in-app purchases.
With three battle royale mobile games and more on the way, it’s just a matter of time before PUBG Corp realises there’s an audience beyond China interested in the genre on smaller screens. Till then, which PUBG clone are you playing? Let us know via the comments.
