PUBG Mobile, the Tencent-published mobile version of the popular battle royale, remains incredibly popular. Its popularity stems from availability in regions including China and India, making it stand out even among mobile battle royale competition from thePUBGfranchise. That also makesPUBG Mobilea unique opportunity for crossover partnerships, given the reach of its audience. That’s how something likePUBG Mobile’s newly announced crossover event partnership withWarframecomes together.
Running from now through April 19,PUBG Mobileplayers have access to an in-game collaboration with the free-to-play action gameWarframe. The event will allowPUBG Mobileplayers to complete in-game missions themed afterWarframe, which will then reward variousWarframe-related items including Tenno skins. It’s not just an exciting opportunity forfans of bothPUBG MobileandWarframe, but a chance to earn some free sci-fi gear.
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The event inPUBG Mobilewill technically be broken down into different time periods. The initialWarframeactivity lasts just two weeks, from March 10 through March 23. Those who complete the currently available challenges will unlock a skin. The two skins advertised so far are theExcalibur Warframe’s Umbra variant and Wukong Prime. After March 23, the next phase of theWarframecollaboration will be revealed, as it’ll be delivered alongsidePUBG Mobile’s 1.9 update.
It’s worth questioning whyWarframe, a popular free-to-play game in its own right, is collaborating withPUBG Mobile, anotherfree-to-play game. The two don’t directly compete, but it’s still an odd situation. Many believe this isWarframe’s effort to appeal to the Chinese market. The Excalibur Umbra and Wukong Prime skins are especially notable, as Wukong Prime was the first Prime thatWarframein China received and Excalibur Umbra was the Prime China got instead of the standard Excalibur Prime already released in the west.
While advertisingWarframeto the Eastern market on its own is certainly valuable, someWarframefans believe there could be more to the collaboration. AtTennoCon 2021, Digital Extremes revealed plans to create a mobile version ofWarframe. This new partnership withPUBG Mobilecould mean that theWarframemobile port is getting closer to completion.
Ignoring all the speculation, the one unignorable truth is thatPUBG Mobileis published by Tencent and thatWarframedeveloperDigital Extremes is owned by Tencent. This partnership could simply be a matter of Tencent synergizing with its brands as a way to build excitement for both games.
PUBG Mobileis available now on iOS and Android.
