Leaderboards play a crucial role in enhancing competition and engagement in multiplayer games by allowing players to compare their scores with others, encouraging longer playtimes and repeated gameplay. For Unity games with online capabilities, integrating social features like in-game chat and real-time leaderboard updates can enrich the gaming experience, although developing and maintaining such infrastructure can be resource-intensive. The tutorial highlights how PubNub, a developer API platform, can simplify this process by providing scalable and reliable real-time updates for in-game features like chat and leaderboards. By following the step-by-step tutorial, game developers can implement real-time leaderboards in Unity using PubNub's Unity SDK, which allows for the easy management of scores and player interactions across a global scale. The tutorial also includes troubleshooting tips and additional resources, such as video walkthroughs and GitHub repositories, to aid developers in building interactive gaming experiences efficiently.