Paul Morris on April 14, 2018, 12:37 am

PUBG Mobile Emulator Detection Update: Changes Made At Back-End For Fair Gameplay

The team behind PUBG Mobile has announced a relatively small, but hugely important, back-end change which will impose limitations on the types of players being matched together based on how they are accessing the title. According to the announcement, the change is in order to “ensure fair gameplay.”

By its very nature, PUBG Mobile is a highly competitive game which brings out the best, and the competitive worst, in a lot of people.

Those accessing the game from a mobile device, such as one of Apple’s iPhones or an Android smartphone, have become increasingly frustrated by the fact that they are matched in a gaming environment with gamers who are using control peripherals or accessing PUBG Mobile via an emulator in order to gain a competitive advantage.

This latest announcement looks to try and resolve at least part of that problem by addressing the emulation issue in the first instance:

To ensure fair gameplay, players on emulators will only be matched with one another and not with players on mobile devices. Groups with at least one player using an emulator will also only be matched with one another and not with groups that use only mobile devices.

The reason for this change is specifically related to the individuals who use emulation software on a laptop or desktop in order to allow them to run a mobile app on that hardware. This instantly gives them a larger screen and access to a more sophisticated control system, which, in turn, provides an immediate competitive advantage over those who are playing the game in its true spirit on a mobile device with touchscreen controls.

With these new changes, those using an emulator should only be matched against others who are using an emulator. And, for those who are a part of a group which contains at least one person using an emulator, that whole group will be matched against other emulator users, all in the name of fair gameplay.

This is definitely a positive first step by the PUBG Mobile team to bringing some fairness back to the title and keeping gamers happy. Players of the global version of the game are already unhappy that they are lagging behind the Chinese version. The last thing they need is players leaving the game in their droves due to unfair advantages spoiling the experience.