PUBG bots lifted play time 50% and team play 28%

Adding AI-controlled opponents to PUBG: Battlegrounds appears to have done more than help new players survive longer. According to forthcoming research in Information Systems Research, the change was followed by players spending about 50% more time in the game, while team play with friends increased by 28%.

The study centers on a problem familiar to long-running multiplayer games. PUBG: Battlegrounds, launched in 2017, had to keep attracting newcomers even as its player base became more experienced.

“At a game’s peak, there are a lot of experienced players, so new players don’t have an incentive to join the game, because they’re always being defeated.”

To address that, the game began adding AI opponents to some matches starting in 2020. The bots were tuned to perform slightly below the average human player, giving less experienced players room to practice and build confidence. Players knew some bots were present, but the game did not identify which opponents were human and which were AI.

That design choice mattered, the researchers argue. Because players could not easily tell whether a win came against a person or a bot, the extra success still translated into higher confidence and more willingness to queue up with friends. Players seeking stricter competition could still choose modes limited to human opponents.

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“The underlying mechanism is based on enhancing players' self-efficacy and sense of responsibility toward teammates. That’s why they play more games and play more games with their friends.”

Qiu said the findings may extend beyond games. Rather than displacing newcomers, he argued, AI systems can help people gain experience and confidence before moving into tougher environments.

“If we can build an agentic AI foundation at the bottom of an organization, those agents can help people, not replace people.”

The paper is “Interlopers or Catalysts? Dissecting the Impact of Incorporating AI Players on Multiplayer Online Games” by Zhechao Yang et al, published in Information Systems Research (2026). DOI: 10.1287/isre.2024.0996.