For players, price performance through the third-party platform top up pubg mobile is likely to be more favorable than through the official channels. For instance, Codashop, the well-known Southeast Asian game recharge site, offered an average 8.8% discount on UC coins in 2023. Customers who bought a one-time top-up of 600 UC coins (approximately $12) or more would receive an additional 5% of UC coins, which would reduce the total price by 17.2% compared to official direct top-ups. The SEAGM platform in Indonesia has optimized its supply chain expenses, reducing the cost of the 1,200 UC package (approximately $24) to $19.3. Combined with a $3 discount on the first purchase for new consumers, the actual price is only 76% of the official price. The business model of these platforms relies on a low-margin but high-volume sales model. Their order processing speed is as much as 1,200 transactions per second with an average arrival time of only 8 seconds, much faster than the 30-second delay of official channels.
Google Play and App Store points cashback programs are likewise cost-effective solutions. Let us take the US region, for instance. For every $1 spent on Google Play, 1.2 points can be obtained. The redemption rate is 1 point up to =0.01 US dollars. The overall 100 US dollar recharge can reward 12 US dollars. Apple users can enjoy an immediate 10% cashback for binding Visa cards to recharge in some promotional time periods (like Black Friday 2023). Together with the double UC promotion in the game, the real earnings rate increase can reach 28%. Stats reveal that in Q3 2023, among the users who topped up through the app store channel, 43.7% of them would utilize the points system actively to reduce costs, and their monthly average top-up frequency (2.8 times) was 62% higher than the ordinary users.
The benefits of pubg mobile top up brought about by the limited-time events within the game cannot be ignored. For instance, in the “Lucky Airdrop” event of the 2023 Spring Festival, users who achieved a recharge level of 800 UC could trigger an additional 50% UC bonus. In combination with the 120 UC given as a gift for “Daily Login”, the overall return rate amounted to 1.72 times the original value. Official data from Tencent shows that such activities can increase the players’ peak daily recharge by 3.9 folds of the usual level and reduce the user churn rate by 14 percentage points. When “Metro Royale” mode was updated in 2024, the market premium of the limited gun skin as a present when recharging 2,000 UC equaled $18, which was equivalent to reducing the recharge cost by 31% in a hidden way.
Local collaboration on payment tools has a tendency to camouflage high-value discounts. Take Brazil as an example. Tencent has realized strategic cooperation with the local e-wallet UPAY. By refilling through bank transfer, you can enjoy a 7% tax reduction, up to a maximum of 3.5 reais (equivalent to about 0.65 US dollars) of savings per transaction. During the promotion time in Indonesia in 2023, the Southeast Asian e-wallet OVO launched a limited-time policy for PUBG Mobile players, giving a 15% discount for topping up over 100,000 Indonesian rupiah. Combined with the promotion of the “Royale Pass” season card in the game, it reduced players’ costs of buying the same items by 22%. This payment innovation has touched 67% of the worldwide active users of PUBG Mobile. Data shows that the LTY (Lifetime Value) of users who use localized payment tools is $41 higher than the LTY of ordinary users.
It is interesting to note that the third-party price comparison site Allkeyshop’s tracking data in 2023 shows the standard deviation of price volatility in the top up pubg mobile channel globally is ±6.7%. Players are recommended to use price tracking tools to lock in the low-price window. For instance, in the Turkish region, due to the currency exchange rate fluctuations, there was a brief period in November 2023 when 1200 UC was exchanged at only $9.3 (the normal price was $14.5) with an arbitrage space as high as 35.9%. By cashing out through the trading of accessories at the Steam community market, some players have further reduced their recharge costs. Data shows that the turnover rate of high-end gun skins on the trading platform can reach up to 3.7 times a month. Through buying low and selling high, the actual purchase cost of UC can be reduced by 19-24%.