Millennials plug in to mobile game tournaments to make an extra buck

Being stuck in their homes, many who haven’t played for months have come back to their turf, thus bringing a surge in expert players reaching the top tier at a short period.

R Ashwin, an undergraduate student in the city, said, “Earlier, we used to conduct PUBG tournaments on weekends. It has now become a daily tournament. There is an entry fee of Rs 100, which can be paid using Google Pay or PhonePe. As many as 25 teams will participate by paying Rs 100 each and the winning team will take home Rs 1000 and we get Rs 1,500 for conducting the game.”

He added that many tournaments are being conducted in the city. “We have many groups on social media and WhatsApp to share information about the tournaments. In Coimbatore, a team organised the tournament for a cash prize of Rs 5,000. The craze for PUBG has almost increased double-fold during lockdown period since we can’t play outdoors or afford sophisticated games like XBOX or play station or VR (Virtual Reality) games,” Ashwin said.

MRK Karthik, a resident of Alandur, who is into construction and electrical business, said, “Since our business has stopped due to the lockdown, I have nothing else to do except to play PUBG. Companies are selling mobile games at discount prices to attract more customers during the lockdown. I have also opted for sophisticated weapons and clothes which were sold for a cheaper price now.” 

While many are playing online games like PUBG, Call of Duty, Fortnite and Ludo King, parents worry about their children being addicted to them. “My 9-year-old son keeps playing online car game for hours and we can’t control him. He wakes up every in the morning, plays the game, eats and sleeps. This has been happening for the past month,” said Jeevitha, a resident of Anna Nagar.

Speaking to DT Next, mobile gamers said that they are playing various games, especially PUBG, for a minimum of 8 hours per day. “The trend for mobile games is on the rise since the majority of people don’t have access to sophisticated games during the lockdown,” said Ashok, an IT Professional.