PUBG MOBILE FLASH, the official lightweight version of PUBG MOBILE, is now available worldwide for free on Android and iOS. The app launched on 13 November with an initial download of 0.96GB on Android and under 2GB on iOS, and it runs on phones with as little as 2GB of RAM. It was co-developed by Tencent Games’ LightSpeed Studios and KRAFTON, and picked up 27 million pre-registrations before launch, according to the official launch announcement. Players who log in keep the same account, friends, matches and items they already have in PUBG MOBILE.
That last point is what separates FLASH from the old PUBG Mobile Lite. Lite, released in 2019 and since discontinued, used its own accounts and smaller matches, so players on budget phones were effectively cut off from everyone else. FLASH is a lighter client for the same game, with cross-play against the full app and updates synchronised with it. It was first shown at the PUBG Mobile World Cup in August as PUBG Mobile Light, before it was renamed FLASH in September.
The move targets the players PUBG MOBILE has found hardest to keep. Much of the audience it still wants to reach plays on budget Android phones with little free storage, in markets where Garena’s Free Fire built its lead by running on modest hardware. A sub-1GB client with a 2GB RAM floor brings PUBG MOBILE into that segment without splitting its player base, which was the main weakness of Lite.
FLASH ships with Erangel only and downloads everything else on demand
The size saving comes from what FLASH leaves out of the first install. Only Erangel and Classic Battle Royale are pre-installed, while other maps, modes, events and higher-quality graphics packs are downloaded when players choose them, the press release says. A confirmation step stops those packs from downloading automatically, which matters on prepaid data plans. The lobby is simplified, icons are lightweight by default, and players who have not downloaded a cosmetic item see a temporary outfit in its place until they fetch the files.
Performance settings run at 25, 30, 40 or 60 frames per second, depending on the device. Compared with the FLASH beta, PUBG MOBILE says it is targeting a 10% higher average frame rate, 10% better frame-rate stability and 3% lower power use. It is also aiming for 12% less memory use, a 15% shorter startup screen and 20% faster loading before matches. The company describes those numbers as targets, not results guaranteed on every phone, so real gains will vary by chipset and storage speed.
Security is shared with the main game too. FLASH uses the same Ban Pan anti-cheat system as PUBG MOBILE, including real-time cheat detection, enforcement and its Investigator system. Since FLASH players share matches with players on the full game, PUBG MOBILE says they are covered by the same protections.
For players on high-end phones, the full PUBG MOBILE app still makes more sense. FLASH tops out at 60 frames per second, while the main app offers 90 frames per second and higher on supported devices. Because progress is shared between the two apps, switching later costs nothing more than the download.
The launch lands a day after PUBG MOBILE’s 4.7 update
FLASH arrived a day after PUBG MOBILE version 4.7, the winter update built around the Arctic Chronicles theme mode. Since the two apps stay in sync, FLASH players get the same seasonal content, although large modes have to be downloaded separately. PUBG MOBILE has also set aside more than US$2.3 million in launch rewards and incentives for players and creators, and its UK announcement highlights a US$1 million Perks Station event.
“We’ve listened closely to player feedback throughout beta testing,” said Rick Li, producer of PUBG MOBILE and deputy general manager of Quantum Studio at LightSpeed Studios. Vincent Wang, general manager and head of PUBG MOBILE publishing at Tencent Games, framed the launch as part of a wider push on access. “Expanding access to PUBG MOBILE has always been an important part of our long-term vision,” he said. Players can download it from the App Store and Google Play, with links on the official FLASH website.
India gets BGMI Air instead on 10 December
FLASH is not available in India, according to tbreak, where PUBG MOBILE has been blocked since 2020. Indian players have their own lightweight option from KRAFTON India, as BGMI Air launches on 10 December after crossing 14 million pre-registrations. Like FLASH, it promises a download of about 1GB and keeps existing progress, in its case through players’ BGMI accounts.
For everyone else, FLASH is live now and replaces the need to free up several gigabytes before joining friends on the full game. The 13 November release date was confirmed earlier this week, and the app went live on schedule on both stores. PUBG MOBILE says future updates to FLASH will be fully synchronised with the main game.
