The smartphone market has been moving at breakneck speed. Since the introduction of the iPhone back in 2007, we’ve gone from phones playing simple games like Snake, to pocket-sized devices playing older console ports like GTA: Vice City, all the way to current cream of the crop titles like PUBG Mobile.
But just because millions of us have access to flagship devices, doesn’t mean the rest shares that privilege. In places like India, where cheaper smartphones still rule the roost, keeping up with the PUBG Mobile trend can be tough. Identifying a need for a more well-rounded version of the mega-popular battle royale title, Tencent just released PUBG Mobile Lite – a new version of the game designed to get low-end devices in on the action.
What Is PUBG Mobile Lite?
PUBG Mobile Lite is a new version of Tencent’s massive battle royale title. It doesn’t replace the current PUBG Mobile game but will live on as a separate entity. It loses a lot of features you’d find on the vanilla PUBG Mobile download, but gains a few others for a more tailor-made experience. It probably isn’t made for you, but some of these features make it very beginner-friendly compared to its more feature-rich sibling.
Does PUBG Mobile Lite play on PUBG Mobile servers?
No. PUBG Mobile Lite makes too many fundamental gameplay tweaks to offer crossplay with the core PUBG Mobile game. If you were hoping to finally get your low-end phone equipped friends into PUBG Mobile, you’ll have to jump over to PUBG Mobile Lite with them to squad up.
If you’re still not keep on playing PUBG Mobile in the palm of your hand or happen to have a decent computer you’d rather use, look into playing PUBG Mobile through an emulator. It’s free, easy, and is endorsed by Tencent through their own purpose-built Android emulator.
What Makes PUBG Mobile Lite different?
To accommodate low-spec phones, PUBG Mobile Lite strips the game back in more ways than one. It’s designed to run on devices with limited storage and low RAM (≤2GB). To do this, the standard 100 player brawls are reduced to 60, with the Erangel map being scaled down from 8km x 8km to a mere 2km x 2km to compensate. More buildings have been added to make up for this. Expect far fewer skins to keep the game small and to lower the burden on limited system memory.
Understanding that low-spec devices are more commonly found in areas with lesser networks, Tencent has even incorporated a number of deep-rooted system changes to even the playing field. These range from faster bullet speed and the removal of drop-off, tighter aim-assist, less recoil, and an extended “Time to Kill” duration. You even heal automatically while moving, and players appear as blips on the mini-map to facilitate a more aggressive playstyle.
All this creates a PUBG Mobile experience that suddenly isn’t just for low-spec mobile devices. Matches are expected to take around 10 minutes (down from 25-40), making PUBG Mobile Lite a version better suited to quick sessions – though PUBG Mobile players can already find something similar in the Quick Match mode.
Does My Royale Pass Work In PUBG Mobile Lite?
Again, no. The traditional PUBG Mobile Royale Pass is replaced with a slightly new system in PUBG Mobile Lite – the Winner Pass. While screenshots don’t make it look too different from the usual Royale Pass, it’s said to have “faster achievement unlocks” and drops the eight-week duration to one month.
Where Can I Download PUBG Mobile Lite?
PUBG Mobile Lite was designed to accommodate places like India where a large portion of the population use low-spec devices, meaning it’s currently only available in India through the usual install channels. This may change in the future with additional rollouts, but it wouldn’t be the first time Tencent has put out a Lite version of its games in select territories.
That being said, it has been possible to gain India-specific rewards in PUBG Mobile by using a VPN. We haven’t been able to test it ourselves, but the same steps could potentially allow for PUBG Mobile Lite to be installed and played this way so long as you stay connected to the VPN throughout. If you happen to be in India or a supported country, you can install the game here.
If you’re running on a weaker device and think PUBG Mobile Lite will benefit you, it might be worth attempting to download the game for yourself. If nothing else, the smaller install size means any prospective PUBG Mobile players can download and demo the game much faster than before to more quickly gauge whether they’d want to upgrade to the core PUBG Mobile experience down the line.
Disclaimer: Fanbyte is owned by Tencent, which also runs Tencent Games, developer and publisher of PUBG Mobile. Tencent also subsidizes much of Fanbyte’s PUBG Mobile coverage by covering freelancer budget costs. Those covering PUBG Mobile for the site have no contact with Tencent, however, and are given complete creative control to write whatever they wish.
