PUBG: A Case Study in “Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”

PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) was once the king of battle royale, the OG winner chicken dinner you’d brag about in squads. But at this point? It’s more like the shop that refuses to fix its busted door.

1. Cheaters Everywhere, Literally Millions

PUBG doesn’t just have a cheating problem. It’s banned over 3.2 million cheaters in 2023 alone, a 33% increase from the year before, and that’s just one snapshot. That’s not some tiny little batch, we’re talking millions of accounts getting nuked by BattlEye, PUBG’s anti-cheat layer. Many players literally watch a hack user aimbot through their entire squad before reporting them.

If you need perspective: even huge online games don’t ban this many accounts regularly, this is like if every single person at a major esports tournament was cheating, and they still hadn’t fixed the problem. That’s not balance issues, that’s rot.

2. Players Keep Leaving (Despite the Nostalgia)

PUBG once boasted over 30 million copies sold, but long time players have steadily bounced because the vibe is about as smooth as a potato running at 20 FPS.

Meanwhile, competitors like Fortnite and Apex Legends have far larger active communities, better anti-cheat perception, and more sustainable growth models. Even when PUBG spikes in concurrent players on Steam, it’s still trailing behind other giants.

3. Developer Engagement? …We Hardly Know Her

Let’s talk about how long you can expect a response from PUBG Corp when you report a cheater: weeks. Months even. And then what? Same cheater back in rotation like “lol nice try.” Lots of folks believe PUBG doesn’t ban nearly enough, and half the people arrested for cheating are back in matches shortly after. That’s not “active dev engagement”, that’s “we want the cheaters’ money too.”

Players routinely report multi-account cheaters who get temp-banned, come back, and rinse repeat. Not exactly “developer cared” vibes.

4. Cash Grab or Community Engagement?

Let’s talk money, because PUBG definitely does. PUBG Mobile alone reportedly generated about $1.1 billion in 2024, which is huge, but clear lagging compared to Fortnite’s tens of billions overall.

Meanwhile, the game continues to push cosmetics and passes while leaving the core combat experience feeling like an afterthought. That's not dedication to quality that’s dedication to revenue.

So What’s the Unarguable Verdict?

• Millions of banned cheaters isn’t just an “oops,” it’s a systemic issue.

• Player base stagnation and decline compared to competitors is a quantifiable fact.

• Developer response time and community frustration levels consistently trending towards “we don’t care enough.”

• Gear toward monetization over core fixups is loud enough you can hear it from space.

This isn’t parody, it’s measurable player frustration backed up by data, bans, and shift patterns across the gaming landscape.

Mic Drop

Look, PUBG still has its fans, and it can be fun. But when a game’s biggest headline stats are “millions of cheaters banned,” “players leaving,” and “money made,” that’s not a legacy. That’s a reminder that no matter how big you start, if you ignore the basics (anti-cheat, player happiness), you don’t stay on top forever.

PUBG isn’t just stale, it’s proof that nostalgia doesn’t fix a broken game.