PUBG is set to get several new features throughout 2024 that promise to change the game significantly.
The free-to-play battle royale, which remains one of the most-played games across console and PC via Steam six years after launch, is getting destructible environments, a move to Unreal Engine 5, user generated content, and more over the course of this year.
Developer Krafton also signalled new collaborations (these have become a big part of PUBG recently), improvements to matchmaking, and the promise of increased anti-cheat measures.
On destructible environments, Krafton said players will be able to strategically destroy sections of buildings or build defensive barriers, which in turn would open new attack routes or secure areas. The idea is the destructible environments will add a “dynamic” new layer of strategy and tactics to the game. Expect a preview in an April update, with improvements to follow.
Krafton also plans gunplay updates to release every two months as part of a drive to “foster a stable ecosystem and provide a greater diversity of choices to players”. Players can test weapons in the Arcade’s Gunplay Labs ahead of their launch proper. Krafton is also working on survival-focused items and improving modes for a more “casual” gaming experience, which suggests the developer is keen to expand the game’s audience. The move to Unreal Engine 5 “marks the start of an exciting journey”, Krafton said (PUBG is currently built on Unreal Engine 4).
Meanwhile, user generated content gives PUBG Fortnite vibes. The point here, Krafton added, is “to empower players to create and engage with their content and foster a vibrant, creator-driven ecosystem”.
PUBG launched on PC via Steam in March 2017, and went on to become one of the biggest games in the world. In January 2018, PUBG set Steam’s all-time peak concurrent figure for a single game with an incredible 3,257,248 players online at the same time. Since then, PUBG has launched across consoles and on mobile, the latter of which has seen over one billion downloads.
While the console and PC version of PUBG is far from the heights set during the game’s early years, it remains hugely popular, with hundreds of thousands of people playing on Steam at any given moment.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.