Free Fire VS PUBG｜App Intelligence About Who Attracts More Players?

According to some estimates, the global mobile gaming industry is worth approximately 68 billion USD dollars in 2020. Some protections suggest that this value can be as high as $102 billion by the end of 2023, so the popularity of mobile games shows no signs of slowing down.

There are thousands of mobile games that compete for consumer attention, but Garena Free Fire and PUBG have consistently stood out as the leaders in the global market.

Below, we’ll compare Free Fire and PUBG. Moreover, we’ll also tell you which game attracts more players and give you a few tips to choose the best one for your next campaign.

How Are Free Fire and PUBG Similar?

Before going into the details of each, we have to mention that both of these games share a lot of similarities. As a matter of fact, the game developers for these two games followed a similar path to other successful projects in the gaming industry, for instance, Far Cry.

The plot starts when a group of characters parachutes into an island. The goal of the game is to survive, but there are many different strategies you select as well as various upgrades you can acquire. For example, you can change your character’s image, gain the ability to regenerate health faster, learn how to reload faster, and obtain additional skills as you explore the island around you. And, both games feature a variety of playing modes, including single-player, 4 versus 4 team games, and other options.

Basic Differences Between the Two

Although both games share a lot of similarities, there are also basic differences between the two.

Free Fire is more geared towards general shooter games. It requires a lot of skill, but it also aims to entertain the player through attractive graphics and fun plot elements that keep the audience engaged.

PUBG is more of a war game with a lot of emphasis on weapons and strategy. And, this game also has robust anti-cheat systems and different map choices that alter the terrain you play in. You can choose to play in snow, jungles, deserts, and even on the moon.

Comparing Download Statistics

Both of these platforms are available through mobile device stores and they are free to play, although you can also make in-game purchases to unlock additional features.

As for downloads, PUBG has registered more than 600 million downloads globally since it was launched back in 2017. It has dominated most markets, establishing itself in Europe, the Americas, and Asia.

Free Fire is very close to PUBG, but it comes up a bit short at 500 million downloads since it was first launched. That said, Free Fire has found more success in Asia, Latin America, and similar regions than in Europe, the US, and other western areas.

Analyzing Which Game Attracts More Players with SocialPeta

There’s a handful of platforms that can help you determine which game attracts the most players, but we’ll use SocialPeta for the purpose of this article.

According to this app intelligence tool, both Free Fire and PUBG have received more than 2 million downloads last month. These games haven’t faltered in terms of popularity, so it’s safe to assume that they will remain a staple in the industry for the foreseeable future.

In order to determine which is the best fit, we’ll analyze the creatives used in the ads as well as the player ratings for each app.

Creatives Analysis

To assess the creatives used to promote these games and how they have changed over time, we’ll use SocialPeta to compare ads published in 2018 with creatives that are currently active.

SocialPeta is an intelligence tool that allows marketers to see advertising, eCommerce, and app trends in order to develop better campaigns. Known as the more comprehensive intelligence platform on the market, users can see which ads are producing the best results, examine their content, and identify ways to improve their strategies.

Here’s what we found when compared Free Fire and PUBG ads:

Free Fire

Free Fire is a less serious game intended for casual gamers. Users who are more interested in things like character customization and potential accessory acquisition tend to go for this game, not to mention the fact that the gameplay is slightly more user-friendly.

While Player Unknown Battlegrounds pits 1 player versus 99 others, Free Fire only features a total of 50 characters at the beginning of the game.

Here’s what we found when we compared ads from the past two years with creatives of 2020.

2018 Ads

One of the most striking things about the ads from 2018 is that they were extremely long. The creatives lasted more than one minute on average, which seems like a lot considering how small the customer attention span can be.

Free Fire promoters did this because the game was new, so they wanted to show off various plot elements to the viewers. Plus, the platform also has to show off its features and unique elements, like the diamond reward program and other innovative contraptions.

Current Ads

Now that Free Fire is a well-established game, marketers promoting this mobile app rely on shorter videos. The creatives today only last 10 to 15 seconds, which is the perfect amount of time to engage users who haven’t previously come in contact with the game.

Additionally, the ads feature live-action animation and highlight exciting elements about the plot, which is a standard move by a well-established game.

PUBG

Some of the most important elements that users love about PUBG is its emphasis on strategy and the accessories available. While the main game is survival, it also delivers a high amount of entertainment value thanks to the different abilities players can choose.

The most popular advertising platforms for PUBG are social media networks like Facebook and Instagram.

Here’s our comparison of 2018 ads and current creatives:

2018 Ads

Back in 2018, the main format was video ads and the most popular form of content was a recording of the game.

It’s important to note that PUBG was a PC game before transitioning to mobile. So, all marketers had to do was convince mobile users that the new version was as good as the computer game.

The best way to reflect the game experience was to include actual recording of what players should expect.

Current Ads

The ads used now to promote PUBG have changed in both format and contents. Today, the promotional materials come in the form of live-action ads that feature predesigned graphic images. And, because these can run via Flash or other technologies, so the ads aren’t always displayed in video format.

Instead of attracting its old user base, PUBG promoters are now aiming to lure new audiences by showing off some of the game’s most alluring features. The new ads also focus heavily on the sense of substitution, so you see a variety of characters displayed on the creatives.

Player Ratings

Player ratings can make or break a game, especially on platforms like Google Play Store. In addition to gauging popularity itself, it’s crucial to assess player ratings because it can help highlight ongoing issues that may result in user churn later on.

The goods news is that both Player Unknown Battlegrounds and Free Fire have millions of reviews, so there’s a good sample you can analyze. Below, we’ll explain the findings of our research.

Free Fire

Free Fire has amassed almost 62 million reviews and also has an average 4.1 rating. According to user feedback, the game runs smoothly, the features work as advertised, and the graphics are as good as Player Unknown Battlegrounds.

Furthermore, a lot of reviewers praise Free Fire because it adds new features regularly. However, there are some complaints about having to purchase additional features, although this is normal in this type of freemium game.

PUBG

At the time of writing, PUBG had more than 32 million reviews and a total 4.1-star rating. The vast majority of users praise the game’s plot, graphics, and actual gameplay, plus it gets kudos from a few users for blocking out hackers and cheaters. There are some complaints about bugs, but these are often repaired quickly by the Player Unknown Battlegrounds team.