PUBG Mobile has more downloads across Africa, but a pro player who spoke to IGN Africa said CODM is actually the most popular title on the continent. That single contradiction sums up exactly how messy this rivalry is in Nigeria right now. Neither game has fully won, and the two communities argue about it constantly online.
Here is what the numbers and the players themselves actually say.
The Africa-Wide Numbers Tell A Confusing Story
In 2024, PUBG Mobile was the second most downloaded mobile game across Africa with 82 million downloads. CODM came in fifth place with 52 million downloads over the same period. On pure install numbers, PUBG Mobile wins clearly.
But downloads do not always equal active, engaged players. A pro player interviewed by IGN Africa stated plainly that CODM is the most popular title in Africa right now, suggesting CODM holds more of its player base in active daily play even with fewer total downloads. Both things can be true at once. More people have installed PUBG Mobile at some point, but CODM may be holding a larger share of consistently active players.
Nigeria’s CODM Scene is Visibly More Organized Right Now
Looking specifically at Nigeria, CODM has a more documented and active competitive community. Several Nigerian CODM content creators and players took part in a $10,000 tournament hosted by Irish CODM pro player iFerg. None of the Nigerian players won, but their participation mattered for visibility and reputation inside the wider gaming community.
The names involved show how much CODM has grown locally. MalayYT, with 68,800 TikTok followers, had the best-performing Nigerian team in that tournament. Odun Wire, with 619,000 followers, was considered the best individual Nigerian performer and reportedly managed to kill Lotex, one of the best CODM players in the world, during the event. KingofDeath, with 108,000 followers, built a following partly through aggressive, toxic content that the CODM community treats as entertainment rather than a turnoff. Another creator, KingPlays, told Techpoint Africa he made over ₦4 million in a single year from his 222,000-follower TikTok page, largely built around CODM content.
This level of organized creator activity, sponsorships, named rivalries, and paid tournament appearances, is currently better documented for CODM in Nigeria than for PUBG Mobile.
PUBG Mobile is Investing Heavily To Catch Up
PUBG Mobile is not standing still. The game has launched dedicated local servers in Nigeria and South Africa specifically to fix latency and connection stability issues that frustrated African players for years. This is a real technical upgrade, not just marketing, and it directly addresses one of the biggest complaints PUBG Mobile players in Nigeria have had compared to CODM’s smoother local performance.
PUBG Mobile has also been running cultural and community-focused initiatives under the banner “For Africa, By Africa,” including an Africa Cup Tournament with national teams competing for pride rather than just prize money, weekly giveaways featuring Infinix smartphones, and even plans to add Mancala, a traditional African board game, into the game itself. There is also an active Nigerian Pro League running its eighth season, showing PUBG Mobile does have a structured local competitive scene, even if it gets less mainstream creator attention than CODM currently does.
Why CODM Tends To Win The Day-To-Day Battle
Several practical factors explain why CODM often edges out PUBG Mobile in everyday play, especially in Nigeria.
CODM’s battle royale matches typically last 15 to 20 minutes, compared to PUBG Mobile’s 35 to 40 minute matches. For players gaming in short windows between classes, work, or during power outages, CODM’s pace fits real life better. CODM’s controls are also widely considered more straightforward, with fire and scope merged into simpler inputs, while PUBG Mobile often requires more finger coordination to manage scoping and shooting separately.
CODM also runs well on a wider range of devices without demanding the most expensive phone on the market, which matters in a country where mid-range and budget Android devices dominate. PUBG Mobile is generally optimized to run smoothly even on phones with just 2GB of RAM, so both games can technically run on budget hardware, but player reports consistently describe CODM’s controls and pacing as the more beginner-friendly option for new players jumping in casually.
Where PUBG Mobile Still Wins
PUBG Mobile has not lost everything in this rivalry. It remains the higher-grossing mobile shooter globally, sitting above CODM in lifetime revenue, and its esports scene carries significantly bigger global prize money, with a $7 million prize pool confirmed across major 2026 events compared to CODM’s $2 million World Championship purse.
For players who genuinely prefer slower, more tactical gameplay, with realistic bullet drop, larger maps, and vehicles like cars and boats, PUBG Mobile remains the more serious simulation-style battle royale. Its global esports presence, including the PUBG Mobile Global Championship, still draws bigger international viewership numbers than CODM’s biggest events, even though CODM’s peak viewership for its most popular event, the “80’s Throwdown: Doc & Ferg” tournament, reached a respectable 97,475 concurrent viewers.
So Which One Actually Wins in Nigeria
Based on everything currently documented, CODM appears to have the stronger grip on Nigeria’s everyday casual and content-creator gaming scene, while PUBG Mobile holds a real but quieter base built around its Nigerian Pro League and its newly improved local servers.
Neither game has a confirmed, official “most played in Nigeria” statistic from either publisher. What exists is a pro player’s statement that CODM leads Africa overall, stronger visible creator activity and tournament participation for CODM specifically out of Nigeria, and PUBG Mobile’s continued heavy investment to close that gap through local servers and Africa-focused content.
Even though CODM looks like the louder, more visible winner on the ground in Nigeria. PUBG Mobile is the one spending real money and infrastructure to change that.
