Krafton's PUBG Mobile and Kia have set up an offline experience space in Seoul's Seongsu area combining games and electric-vehicle mobility. The pop-up brings key PUBG Mobile play elements into a real-world space and pairs them with Kia's EV lineup, rather than serving as a simple car display or game promotion booth.

The pop-up is called 'PUBGM x Kia Zone 8'. Marking PUBG Mobile's eighth anniversary, it expands in-game collaboration content offline and runs from May 21 to 24 at two locations, PUBG Seongsu and Kia Unplugged Ground.

On the first day of the event, visitors were seen moving between the two spaces in the Seongsu area. The venues were physically separate, but the layout had visitors experience an electric-field concept at PUBG Seongsu and then move to Kia Unplugged Ground, creating a route that felt like progressing to the next zone by following in-game missions. Large installations, vehicle displays and hands-on content were arranged together, leaning toward encouraging participation rather than simple viewing.

At the core of the collaboration is a link between in-game movement and real EV mobility. PUBG Mobile uses vehicles as a key means of transportation on the battleground, and Kia is showcasing its EV lineup including EV3, EV4 and PV5. The companies offer Kia vehicle skins in the game and deliver the collaboration's shared universe offline through real vehicles and experience content.

The pop-up is designed so the two spaces take on different roles. PUBG Seongsu is the 'Heart of the Electric Field', which recreates the electric field in a real space, while Kia Unplugged Ground is a 'Combat Zone' that runs through EV landing, item farming, EV4 RC car racing and a laser battle zone. Visitors move between the sites for a stamp tour and experience the pop-up as if carrying out in-game missions.

The first thing that stands out at PUBG Seongsu is a large Blue Zone air dome. The structure, about 13 metres in diameter and 6.5 metres high, reinterprets PUBG Mobile's electric field as a physical object, with a ball pit experience and a photo area inside. It had a strong presence even from outside, and visitors took photos in front of the dome or in the ball pit while experiencing the electric-field concept. By turning an element that pressured players in the game into photo content, it offered an intuitive look at the nature of the pop-up.

PUBG Seongsu also features an In-Circle Challenge. It recreates the in-game situation of the electric field gradually closing in as an obstacle course, allowing visitors to feel PUBG Mobile's survival tension with their bodies rather than through explanation. Other features include a PUBG Mobile play zone, 8UZZLE, a message wall, and a Kia EV4 vehicle landing presentation.

Kia Unplugged Ground translates PUBG Mobile's progression of dropping, farming, moving and fighting into a real-world route. Kia EV3, EV4 and PV5 vehicles, RC cars and parachute figures are arranged like objects from the game's universe. For Kia, it is a touchpoint to expose its EV lineup to younger gamers, and for Krafton it expands the experience range of the game IP into offline brand experiences.

The EV4 RC car racing uses 1 to 28-scale Kia EV4 RC cars made in collaboration with RC car creator Kkwangnabo. The RC cars reflect six real Kia vehicle colours including Snow White Pearl and Aurora Black Pearl. The controls were more difficult than they looked. The course was narrow, making turns and speed control difficult, and a lap-time board posted the top 5 records, naturally stoking competitiveness beyond a simple experience.

The laser battle zone is run as 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 team matches, with real-time scores shown on tablets and on-site screens. It had the highest sense of immersion among the experiences. Moving with teammates while holding laser equipment, with scores tallied immediately, gave the impression that PUBG Mobile's combat experience had been brought into the real world.

The pop-up runs both the in-game collaboration and the offline experience at the same time. PUBG Mobile features vehicle skins applying Kia EV3, EV4 and PV5 designs, and it will also release a 'special crate' that includes vehicle items for the first time in PUBG Mobile. An attendance event runs until June 4, and attending for 10 days allows players to receive up to 55 Chicken Medals. Completing missions at both venues provides a 'Zone 8 survival kit', and benefits are also offered including special gifts for each space and Mountain Dew Zero drinks.

A Krafton official said the companies planned the event so visitors can newly enjoy PUBG Mobile's core play experience in the real-world space of Seongsu. The official said the collaboration with Kia will expand the game's battleground, movement and combat elements into physical space and provide visitors with a different immersive brand experience.

The pop-up is an example of presenting a game IP collaboration not as simple product exposure or a photo zone, but through visitors moving, competing and taking part in combat. PUBG Seongsu takes on the electric-field and survival concepts, while Kia Unplugged Ground handles movement and combat experiences, dividing the roles between the two spaces. By expanding the Kia vehicle collaboration that began in the game into an experience route in real space, the brand collaboration clearly linked online and offline.