News

If PUBG Mobile is full of bots that might be a good thing

Breathing room

If PUBG Mobile is full of bots that might be a good thing

This will be a hard-to-swallow pill for some if it turns out to be true, but Tencent might be making your introduction to PUBG Mobile a little easier than it's letting on.

After only soft launching in Canada last week, PUBG Mobile's been quickly popping up in a variety of areas including the US and Europe. This might've been a snap decision after Fortnite proved its worth already on iOS, but it's good news all around.

It looks like a lot of people have been tucking into delicious chicken dinners recently. Not just people - newbies. As The Verge and then Kotaku caught on, the ratio of (potential) bots to players for new blood seems higher than those more experienced, and that's kind-of wonderful.

Speaking from my own experience, I find it super hard to dive into online multiplayer games because I'm generally belittled by the community for my lack of skills. That won't be an isolated feeling, I know, and perhaps that's why I'm so taken with Fortnite at the moment.

However, if Tencent has set it up so that you're taking on more bots to begin with and the ratio gradually starts thinning out as you get more experience, that's a pretty great tactic. It builds confidence in players which might help them not feel so out of their depth when jumping in for the first time.

Having played my first match just now, some of the characters were ridiculously easy to kill and I know that's not down to my skill. I'm terrible at mobile shooters and I was lagging all over the place, yet I lasted for a good long while.

Of course, if you hate this sort of stuff and would rather be thrown into a shark-infested deep end, you may feel a little bummed out by such coddling.

What do you guys think? If you've had a chance to play a little PUBG Mobile, did you notice anything weird? Let us know in the comments below.

Emily Sowden
Emily Sowden
Emily is Pocket Gamer's News Editor and writes about all kinds of game-related things. She needs coffee to function and begrudgingly loves her Switch more than she lets on.