RIYADH: Thousands of gamers and fans from around the globe are expected to descend on Saudi Arabia when the Kingdom hosts the prestigious PUBG MOBILE Star Challenge (PMSC) World Cup for the first time later this year. Taking place in the capital during the Riyadh Season festival of activities, the region’s most popular mobile game will test the skills of a top international field of players. The PMSC World Cup, set to be staged at Riyadh Front from Dec. 12 to 14, will see 16 teams from the Middle East and North Africa region compete with 16 teams from the rest of the world. Event organizers are due to officially announce the total prize money up for grabs, but the pot is expected to top more than SR1 million ($267,000). PUBG MOBILE has taken the world by storm since its release in 2018 with in excess of 400 million downloads. Its involvement in Riyadh Season is being hailed by gaming influencers as further indication of PUBG MOBILE’s commitment to bringing innovative technologies to the region. PUBG MOBILE is based on “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” the phenomenon that took the world of interactive entertainment by storm in 2017. Up to 100 players parachute onto a remote island to fight in a winner-takes-all showdown. Players must locate and scavenge their own weapons, vehicles and supplies, and defeat every player in a visually and tactically rich battleground that forces contestants into a shrinking play zone.