PUBG Mobile wins Esports Mobile Game of the Year despite ridiculous collabs

The 2025 Esports Awards wrapped up over the weekend, revealing which games are at the top of the esports ecosystem. Well, in theory. 

PUBG Mobile was revealed as the Esports Mobile Game of the Year, beating Honor of Kings, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Free Fire, Brawl Stars, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Pokemon: UNITE. I have to say, I find this a bit shocking and it may show that the Esports Awards favors North American and European esports scenes. 

Is PUBG Mobile the largest mobile esport?

PUBG Mobile is no slouch, having held over 130 events in 2025. The peak viewership this year was over 1.3 million viewers, which shows the game's growth and the passion of the fanbase. 

However, this seems to ignore the accomplishments of other mobile esports titles that were nominated. Honor of Kings, for example, had the largest esports tournament in history in November 2025. The Kings Pro League Grand Finals in Beijing, China had over 62,000 fans attending in person. I guess it wasn't acknowledged because the game is large in China, not really all over the world. 

Meanwhile, PUBG Mobile has been collaborating with just about everything under the sun. Whether it's Sonic or Skibidi Toilet or Balenciaga, PUBG Mobile will basically allow just about anything to infiltrate the game. While this has definitely made the game feel cheap, random, and stupid to me (I miss when games were serious, gritty, real, immersive...), I can see how this would have mass appeal. 

PUBG Mobile is trying to please audiences in a wide range of regions. It's that popularity all over the world that has made it worthy of the top spot, whether we agree or not. 

"It's a great honor to accept the Esports Mobile Game of the Year 2025 on behalf of the PUBG Mobile team. We continue to deliver the best competition to our driven by the same passion we started since 2018," said James Yang, Global Esports Director of Level Infinite.

"Our biggest event, PMGC 2025, will begin next week on November 21st, 2025. Please join us to the Grand Finals December 12th to 14th, in Bangkok as part of our PUBG United campaign. Come watch, the thrilled matches and enjoy the great prize."