The gaming market has grown exponentially during the last few years, and mobile gaming accounted for 152 billion USD in 2022. One of the most popular mobile games on the market is PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) by Krafton. The game has a total player count of 1.27 million unique users, and the developer team plans to introduce PUBG NFT token features in 2023. The live player count of PUBG is also substantial, with an average number of 300,000 live players. Mobile games are a growing phenomenon in the smartphone era because players don’t need consoles or desktop devices. Instead, users can enjoy games anywhere they want while on the move, while they travel, or to pass the time. According to available data, mobile gaming is larger than the PC and console industries combined. In 2021, mobile gaming made up 57% of the global gaming market.

In this article, we’ll look at the expansion of mobile-based blockchain gaming, focusing on PUBG. While PUBG is a traditional mobile game that doesn’t use blockchain technology, the project announced expansion plans to include PUBG NFT token features. We’ll find out what PUBG is, how it works, and the project’s NFT PUBG plans. Furthermore, we’ll check out the PUBG NFT partnership with Banger and the Krafton partnership with Solana Labs.

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The Growth of Mobile Blockchain-Powered NFT Gaming

To understand why PUBG is joining the metaverse and adding NFT PUBG features, let’s look at the blockchain gaming industry. Blockchain gaming is just a tiny segment of the mobile gaming industry. There are some blockchain-based desktop games, but most blockchain games focus on mobile devices. The blockchain gaming industry aims to compete with classic mobile gaming by offering innovative tech features and GameFi solutions.

Traditional mobile gaming began by offering players access to simplistic, arcade-style games. However, the current mobile gaming market is developing more ambitious projects. These projects bring state-of-the-art graphics and game mechanics that are just as attractive as PC and console games. Thanks to the advanced tech characteristics of modern smartphones, developers can bring immersive gaming experiences to mobile phones. 

Blockchain game developers recognize this opportunity to expand Web3 gaming through NFTs and crypto. Web3 games use blockchain networks to host gaming infrastructure and utilize crypto wallets to give players ownership over gaming assets. For example, blockchain games reward players with cryptocurrency, which they can store in their crypto wallets. Additionally, most games allow users to earn, buy, and trade NFTs. The NFTs can represent gaming avatars, equipment, special rewards, and more. 

NFTs and crypto add a financial incentive element to gaming called play-to-earn, which is very attractive for players. The possibility of simultaneously having fun and earning money is appealing to users. Many Web3 game developers are launching their own projects, like Axie Infinity and Decentraland. However, some traditional game developers are exploring ways to include crypto and NFT features into existing popular games. PUBG is one of the most popular games to announce NFT and metaverse integrations so far. 

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What is PUBG?

PUBG is a mobile-first multiplayer shooter game that combines first-person and third-person perspectives. The game is also available for PC players, but it was originally a mobile game and is much more prevalent among mobile gamers. PUBG is a veteran mobile game launched back in 2018. However, five years later, the game has more than 300,000 live players. PUBG is the original battle royale game that lets numerous players engage in warfare with each other or in teams across various, huge maps. Since the game’s launch, many projects have copied the PUBG concept, but PUBG managed to stay the leader of this gaming niche. 

Initially, players had to pay a fee to play PUBG, but the developers decided to make PUBG a free-to-play game in 2022. Ranked playing still incurs a fee, but most of the game’s essential features are now freely available. There’s also a paid upgrade called Battlegrounds Plus. The PUBG battle royale concept lets up to 100 players parachute from an airplane and wage war on massive maps. Unlike many competitor games that have much smaller maps and support fewer players, PUBG provides users with a mass-scale gaming experience. One of the critical distinctions between PUBG and similar titles is that it provides players with a realistic environment. 

There aren’t any unrealistic or sci-fi features in the game. Instead, PUBG uses a modern warfare environment. Players navigate forest, mountain, island, and desert environments. Players utilize objects such as buildings and warehouses to ambush each other and battle it out with various weapons. Weaponry is one of the strong points of PUBG. There are around 40 weapons in the game, which gives users a broad range of tools to battle each other.

How Does PUBG Work?

According to available data, PUBG is the second-most played video game ever. The game is very intense and offers users numerous options. Players begin the game by parachuting from an airplane into the vast PUBG map. The game has nine huge maps, and the largest maps are 8×8 kilometers in size. The sheer size of PUBG maps allows players to plan and execute various tactics while waging battle. Players can die quickly in PUBG if they aren’t careful. All it takes is a few well-placed shots to die, and that’s why the game requires considerable tactical planning. Of course, players can charge through the map with guns blazing, but PUBG is more about tactics. Users have weapons, accessories, different equipment, and loads of vehicles at their disposal. 

For example, two players can use a car, and while one drives, the other can shoot at enemy players. Teams can develop tactics and decide which team members will carry which type of weapon. A few players can assault an enemy team while a team member covers them from a distance with a sniper rifle. There’s a vast number of possibilities, and that’s what makes PUBG so fun. 

The game has various gameplay modes, such as Solos, Duos, Squads, and more. These three modes allow players to play solo, in a pair, or a team, against other players. All modes are available for playing in third-person or first-person perspective. 

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PUBG NFT Token Integration With Banger

NFT gaming features are becoming increasingly popular, and Krafton, the company behind PUBG, decided to announce an NFT PUBG integration. The world of PUBG is fast-paced and dynamic because users need to make quick decisions to win battles. Including PUBG NFT token features in the game is an attempt by the developer team to make PUBG even more interesting. It isn’t yet clear how the NFT integration will work, but according to available information, users will earn NFTs for completing NFT PUBG challenges. 

PUBG already has numerous in-game challenges. Challenges such as Blitzkrieg, Weak Back, Center of Attention, and others require users to accomplish specific achievements in the game. For example, users must kill enemy players with a particular weapon or perform kills while driving vehicles. There are numerous challenges and requirements. 

The PUBG NFT token integration will reward players for accomplishing challenges, making the game more competitive. NFTs are unique, and there can’t be two identical NFTs. Players will be competing for one-of-a-kind tokens. Each PUBG NFT token will also be unique. PUBG is partnering with Banger, a blockchain gaming platform that focuses on integrating NFTs in video games. The introduction of NFT PUBG features means that PUBG is entering the metaverse. NFTs will add a distinctive element of uniqueness to PUBG gameplay. The team didn’t announce any details about possible NFT utility and special perks for holders because the project is still in its testing stage. However, the PUBG NFT token concept opens possibilities for future NFT PUBG use cases. 

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What is the Role of Banger?

Banger has a vital role in the NFT PUBG project. The company is a newly-formed gaming platform that integrates blockchain features such as NFTs into video games. Banger provides Web2 games that don’t use blockchain technology with a gateway to include NFTs and GameFi solutions. 

GameFi aims to provide users with a more personalized gaming experience using NFTs. Additionally, GameFi includes financial incentives in the form of cryptocurrency rewards and in-game marketplaces where players can buy skills, equipment, avatars, and more. Banger operates the private Banger Chain blockchain network. The company’s clients such as PUBG can use Banger Chain to host their NFTs and other crypto features. Banger Coin is the company’s on-chain token, used for transactions, while Bunnies are the Banger in-game currency. The NFT PUBG integration only includes NFTs for now, according to the available information. However, other Banger partners can include the network’s cryptocurrency in their games. 

The NFT PUBG integration won’t require PUBG to shift the game onto a blockchain network. The game will stay as it is in terms of gameplay and infrastructure. Banger will provide PUBG with all the blockchain functionalities. PUBG will integrate the Banger NFT mechanism into the game. Banger is a ready-made blockchain solution provider for games like PUBG that wish to join the Web3 era. 

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PUBG NFT Alpha Test

Before adding the PUBG NFT token feature to the game, the developer team decided to launch an NFT alpha test in cooperation with Banger. The Banger team prepared the infrastructure for adding NFTs to PUBG. On December 28, 2022, Krafton and Banger announced the beginning of the PUBG NFT alpha test. The alpha test phase lets a limited number of PUBG players complete several PUBG challenges and get Banger NFTs as rewards. The NFTs are non-tradable for now. It isn’t clear whether users will be able to trade these NFTs when they go live. However, many popular games that support NFT mechanics allow players to buy and sell NFTs on specially-made in-game marketplaces.

The three NFT PUBG alpha test challenges are License to Kill, Kill Frenzy, and Ghost Killer.

The License to Kill challenge encourages players to kill as many competitors as possible across multiple PUBG maps. All the kills add up, and players progress on the global PUBG ranking list. When players perform successful headshot kills, they get extra points.

Kill Frenzy encourages high body counts, except players can also use vehicles to run over other players. The player who manages to run over the highest number of competitors during a battle is the one who wins and gets the PUBG NFT token.

Ghost Killer is a challenge for players who like sniping from a distance. Players can only use a sniper rifle, and only long-distance kills earn points. Kills from exceptionally long distances earn more points. 

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The Main PUBG NFT Token Benefit

Very little is known about the PUBG NFT token features in terms of NFT functionalities and what users will be able to do with the NFTs. However, it is clear from the available information that users will get PUBG NFTs as a form of recognition for their ranking in the PUBG world. The project will award dedicated PUBG players with unique NFTs to distinguish them from other players.

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Krafton Partnership With Solana Labs

PUBG NFT features will be the first NFT integration in a Krafton gaming project. However, the company plans to go further and develop blockchain-specific games, metaverse environments, and NFT features. In 2022, Krafton signed a partnership with Solana Labs, the company behind the Solana blockchain. The partnership indicates that Krafton plans to create blockchain games incorporating various critical crypto gaming features, such as DeFi economics and digital collectibles.

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PUBG NFT Integration – PUBG Joins the Metaverse With Banger – Summary

PUBG is a mobile-first video game with one of the largest gaming communities in the world. The plans to add NFT functionalities to the game show how Web2 video games are beginning to integrate Web3 features. Blockchain technology allows games to offer users more interactivity, asset ownership, and unprecedented levels of customization through NFTs. PUBG isn’t a blockchain game. However, the fact that it’s adding NFTs is a step forward for the relevance of blockchain technology in gaming.