When we talk about women’s esports as of 2026, it is important not to drown in abstract discussions about “inclusion,” but instead to look at how the ecosystem actually works. In 2025, women’s esports overall saw a 52% decline in the number of women’s events and a –7.9% drop in total watch time. At the same time, the average concurrent viewership (ACV) per event increased, meaning that interest is concentrating around a smaller number of “anchor” products.
Another key fact that sets the context: more than 90% of all women’s esports viewership in 2024 came from Valorant and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. This means that women’s PUBG Mobile remains media-peripheral, even though PUBG Mobile as a whole is a giant of global mobile esports. This gap—between the scale of the game and the modest size of the women’s segment—is exactly what needs to be analyzed in detail. (Esports Charts)
Against this background, PUBG Mobile looks paradoxical. As a general discipline, it demonstrates enormous scale, which continues to grow in 2026. For example, PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2025 surpassed 1.3 million peak viewers, had around 375,000 average viewers across nearly 72 hours of broadcast, and featured a total prize pool of $3,000,000, with $555,000 awarded to the champion. (Esports Charts)
The global framework for the 2026 season includes four major international events (two Global Opens, the World Cup, and the Global Championship). Both the World Cup and the Global Championship offer $3 million each, and the total prize pool of top-tier events reaches $7 million. (Esports Insider)
The problem lies elsewhere. The women’s PUBG Mobile scene does not exist as a systemic product, but rather as a collection of scattered “islands”: mostly third-party leagues, national or regional women’s majors, and show matches. This fragmentation leads to concrete consequences: low budgets, weak roster stability, minimal media value, and the absence of a clear “ladder” to the main professional segment.
The official PUBG Mobile rules (Proxima) define “Official Competitions” as the top level of the ecosystem: Nationals/Regional Championships, Super League, Global Open, World Cup, Global Championship. Everything within this framework follows formal rules regarding qualification, transfers, residency, and seasonal calendars.
Most women’s tournaments that receive attention are not part of this official vertical. As a result:
This is the main reason why the massive scale of PUBG Mobile as a discipline barely translates into a large women’s PUBG Mobile industry segment.
Viewership and prize pool statistics best reflect reality. Several examples illustrate the “range” of women’s PUBG Mobile.
One of the most formalized women’s products in Europe.
These figures matter mainly in comparison. When PMGC 2025 reaches over one million peak viewers, Wonder League’s ~3,000 peak is not a tier-one product. It is niche content that functions more like a community tournament than a commercial media asset.
Saudi infrastructure is one of the few environments where women’s tournaments have substantial prize pools and offline formats.
This shows that when state or quasi-state investment frameworks exist, women’s PUBG Mobile can receive resources of a different caliber.
Liquipedia shows that Ladies editions existed in SEA, but with very low prize pools:
Even in the “heart” of mobile esports, women’s PUBG Mobile was often treated as a short-term show event rather than an economically grounded league.
Together, these show the main diagnosis: the market is not standardized. Some events attract only small community-level audiences, while others reach four-digit averages. These are anomalies rather than a stable model.
In Valorant, the women’s ecosystem (Game Changers) is an official framework with a clear calendar and media rights. In PUBG Mobile, women’s events rarely convert into trajectories like “team → split → tier-1/2 slot.” Under Proxima, official competitions are structured, but the women’s circuit remains external.
If a league’s media value is only a few thousand dollars (e.g., $4,083 in PMEWL S4) (Esports Charts), clubs struggle to:
Clubs are forced to choose between running women’s rosters as PR/CSR projects or avoiding the segment altogether.
PUBG Mobile excels at creating festival-like peaks (PMGC, PMWC). (Esports Charts)
The women’s segment often lacks:
There are two main reasons why 2026 is a chance for rebuilding women’s PUBG Mobile.
EWC 2026 continues to scale: $75 million total prize pool, 25 tournaments across 24 games, return to Riyadh from July 6 to August 23, 2026, plus a club program and Road to EWC qualifiers. (esportsworldcup.com)
This creates a more rhythmic global calendar and increases demand for additional products between major peaks.
In 2026, PUBG Mobile formalizes its season (two Global Opens, PMWC, PMGC) and strengthens organizational support. (Esports Insider)
If the women’s circuit is not integrated now, it will remain peripheral.
This is not a “dream,” but a practical model to provide regularity, conversion, and measurable ROI.
Why it works: it creates a regular calendar and a narrative ladder.
Top 1–2 teams from regional splits receive direct slots in open qualifiers for semi-pro official competitions (Proxima ecosystem).
This integrates women’s leagues into the selection system.
Not “just a sponsor,” but a package: naming rights, in-stream integrations, short documentaries (4–6 min), co-streaming for local creators.
KPI focus: not only peak and hours, but predictable seasonality and cost per contact. PMEWL shows that media value can be measured, but stability is required. (Esports Charts)
Women’s PUBG Mobile in 2026 is not a “weak scene.” It is a scene without an industrial form. While PUBG Mobile generates million-viewer peaks and multi-million-dollar prize pools globally (Esports Charts), the women’s segment consists of fragmented community products with prize pools of $550–$13,300–$7,000 and peaks often in the thousands or even tens of viewers. (Liquipedia)
To become a “segment” rather than isolated “events,” women’s PUBG Mobile needs three things: a regular calendar, integration into the official ladder, and a monetized media package. In 2026, a window exists for this—through global calendar expansion, Road-to-EWC development, and PUBG Mobile’s season formalization. (esportsworldcup.com)
