PUBG Mobile inches closer to Fortnite with Royale Pass in update 0.6.0

It’s hard to believe, but Tencent’s PUBG Mobile has already been out for more than two months. Since then, Fortnite has made the move to iOS, and consistently out-earned its grittier competition.

That might finally change with the PUBG Mobile 0.6.0 update. It adds a number of features, including a “Royale Pass” with a progression system that’s virtually identical to Fortnite’s Battle Pass. It’s hard to call it a rip-off, since the idea is older than the Battle Royale genre, but it’s clear what inspired the addition.

PUBG Mobile’s Royale Pass vs Fortnite’s Battle Pass

The basic Royale Pass is free for everyone, with two options for “Elite Upgrades” that cost real money. The first costs 600 UC ($10), and the “Elite Upgrade Plus” is set at a whopping 4,500 UC (more than $70). Fortunately it’s currently discounted to 1,800 UC (about $30) for the release.

Read Next: Fortnite vs PUBG: Ten mobile differences between the two biggest battle royales

Both Elite Upgrades give players access to the same unlockable rewards and additional weekly missions (another new feature borrowed from Fortnite), with the plus version instantly unlocking the first 20 of 70 levels. Like Fortnite, each level unlocks new cosmetics, items, and so on. The total value of the initial unlockables with the Elite Pass Plus is about 8,000 UC, on top of the additional rewards gained by leveling up.

The final reward at level 70 is a decidedly un-PUBG-like Royale Bunny Mask. The rest of the costume (Royale Bunny Suit and Feet) can be purchased after level 70 with RP. The Royale Bunny Feet initially reduced the sound players made while walking around the map in beta, but thankfully that was removed for the live patch. There are still no pay-to-win items or features in PUBG Mobile.

Compared to Fortnite’s Battle Pass, which costs $10 for the standard version and $25 for the Battle Bundle, PUBG Mobile’s Royale Pass feels expensive. The rewards are neat, but  Fortnite’s cartoony style lends itself to more cool and original designs. Also, cosmetics in general cost more in PUBG Mobile, with a simple pair of shoes running $5.

Tencent’s game might play and run more smoothly, but Epic Games still has the edge when it comes to monetization. For now. With more categories of cosmetics like weapon skins, parachute skins, and even dropship skins, there’s plenty of room for improvement from PUBG.

Fortnite’s dance emotes make their way to PUBG

Emotes are one of the most iconic parts of Fortnite, and at this point they’ve evolved into a full blown cultural phenomenon. Even professional athletes are getting in on the action.

With patch 0.6.0, PUBG Mobile stepped up to the plate with its own version of emotes. While most of them are basic gestures like waving, clapping, or nodding, there are several dance emotes that can be unlocked through the new Royale Pass system.

PUBG Mobile’s dance emotes don’t play music like their Fortnite counterparts, but they are pretty well polished. There currently aren’t any emotes available for direct purchase, which feels like a lost opportunity considering their popularity in Fortnite.

First Person Perspective mode finally added to PUBG Mobile

PUBG Mobile’s update 0.6.0 wasn’t all about cosmetics. It also added the FPP mode that’s become synonymous with PUBG’s competitive scene. It’s only available in Classic mode, so if you want to try it out you’ll have to play through a longer match, rather than the faster Arcade mode or the new Mini-Zone mode. It can’t even be tried out in Training Mode.

That said, Tencent did a great job adapting FPP for mobile, and although some users are reporting slight dips in performance, it plays just as well as TPP mode. Unlike the Chinese version of PUBG Mobile, players cannot switch between FPP and TPP mode in game, but that won’t come as a surprise to Western fans of PUBG.

The FPP camera is a bit low however, which can make it difficult to see over the tall grass that grows throughout Erangel. Entering a vehicle pulls the camera back to TPP, which is a blessing considering how difficult it can be to maneuver with touch screen controls. Hitting your teammates with a vehicle no longer damages them, either.

Events and other 0.6.0 changes

On top of the new Royale Pass progression system, the PUBG Mobile 0.6.0 patch also added a new World Cup themed event. If you collect items that spell out 2-0-1-8 and a soccer ball, you can redeem them for jerseys and shorts.

With all of the other new daily, weekly, and season wide missions and rewards, this event gets lost in a jungle of red notification circles on the home screen.

There is also a new armory screen so you can see what each weapon model looks like with various attachments and skins. It might just be enough to persuade some players to drop some money on weapon skins. At least it would if they were purchasable anywhere in the shop. Currently they are only available from crates.

The armory also gives an overview of each weapon’s strengths, which could be useful for new players. It also helps you figure out your ideal load-out by displaying how each attachment affects recoil, firing speed, and capacity.

On top of all that, there are a bunch of quality of life improvements like a new pistol UI and the ability to mute individual teammates. You can also gift cosmetics and other in-game items to your friends if you’re feeling generous.

The mobile Battle Royale war rages on

Patch 0.6.0 puts PUBG Mobile in an interesting position. It’s no longer just a port of the original PC version of PUBG (in fact, there’s an official PUBG Mobile PC emulator from Tencent), and it appears to be distancing itself further by adapting some of the most popular features of Fortnite.

PUBG Mobile is already way ahead of the game on Android. Epic Games has consistently delayed the Android release of Fortnite, and at this point the only estimate given is Summer 2018. Considering Summer technically starts on June 21, it could be coming out any day now. Just don’t get your hopes up.

What do you think of PUBG Mobile’s Royale Pass and the 0.6.0 changes? Are they enough to make up for the revenue deficit or are they further proof that Epic Games is ahead of the curve? Let us know in the comments below!