PUBG Mobile is latest title confirmed to be at the Esports World Cup with $3m in prize money

• There’s a whopping $3m prize-pool up for grabs
• Other major mobile titles like Free Fire and Honor of Kings are set to appear
• The event is taking place in Saudi Arabia off the back of other major events like Gamers8

PUBG Mobile has been confirmed as the latest game to appear at the inaugural Esports World Cup in Riyadh this year. A $3m prize pool will be up for grabs, as this competition – the new PUBG Mobile World Cup – is set to replace the already lucrative PUBG Mobile World Invitational.

The Esports World Cup meanwhile is another part of Saudi Arabia’s initiative to promote the country as a center of gaming. It comes off the back of events like Gamers8, an eight-week set of esports tournaments and events centred around gaming.

Big money, but will it work?

The Esports World Cup is not just a big political and economic bet, but it’s also a big entertainment gamble. While it’s not been short of big names in everything from PC to mobile, the Esports World Cup is something we can already see some problems with. For one, it’s betting big on the popularity of esports, which has proven to be problematic to make into something as profitable as a big sporting event for years now.

_{Tencent’s Honor of Kings – only recently released outside China – is another participating title}

For two, with all of these big names in one place, and all these huge tournaments at the same time, viewers might run the risk of being overwhelmed. Clearly, organisers and participants are counting on there being a significant amount of overlap, with something like the Six Nations rugby tournament – where people will watch matches that feature teams they don’t usually follow as part of the wider competition – with people taking up watching competitions for other games.

But esports is very different to traditional sports, and as the competition gets bigger and bigger, is it going to be a feast for the eyes or just too much to swallow?

If you’re curious you can check out the other major mobile names attending, like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Honor of Kings, as well as what they’re offering to entice competitors.