PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (or PUBG as it’s commonly known) spearheaded the popularity of battle royale games. It was a breakout hit that inspired countless competitors such as Fortnite and Apex Legends, but it still remains one of the most played games on Steam and Xbox Live.
Unlike its rivals, PUBG is a more simulation-focused affair, with real-world weapons and physics to consider, such as bullet drop and variable weather conditions. If you’ve been turned off by Fortnite’s flamboyant art style or the relentlessly fast gameplay of Call of Duty: Warzone, PUBG is well worth a go – it’s also on Xbox Game Pass.
Since its meteoric rise from a Steam Early Access title to achieving the highest concurrent player count on Steam back in 2018, PUBG has made its way to PS4, Xbox One, Stadia, Android and iOS. There’s also PUBG Lite, a free-to-play adaptation of the game which can run on lower-spec hardware, such as laptops. PUBG also receives regular updates, adding new content, features and – perhaps somewhat predictably – plenty of fixes for annoying bugs.
Where we droppin'?
But what is PUBG? Well, if you’ve ever watched the film Battle Royale, you should understand the basic idea. 100 players drop onto a deserted island and quickly scavenge for loot. You’ll need to find armor, weapons and healing items, then do whatever it takes to survive until you’re the last man standing.
To make things more interesting, you’ll have to move to a constantly shrinking zone that randomly appears on the map, via land, air or sea. If you get caught outside of the zone, you’ll gradually take damage, which increases dramatically as the game progresses. Pro tip: don’t get caught outside the zone.
Should you manage to survive until the very end, you’ll see the coveted “winner winner chicken dinner” phrase appear on screen. And due to the overwhelming odds stacked against you during every match, you’ll probably want to screenshot it as they don’t come around very often – which makes them taste all the sweeter.
Despite the game now being available on multiple platforms, PUBG continues to evolve with the addition of new maps, survivor passes and modes for players to enjoy. We’ll show you what’s new, why it matters, and what’s planned for the future of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
What's the latest PUBG update for PC?
Update 7.2 (now available)
Update 7.2 is now available for PC players to install. The sizable update introduces a number of pleasing changes to the game, the most crucial of which is Ranked Mode.
Ranked Mode
Ranked Mode replaces the old Survival Title system and is a separate mode to the new normal match, which will include the universally disliked PUBG bots. A player's rank will increase or decrease depending on their performance in each game and, perhaps somewhat controversially, ranked mode is only available to squads.
Each Ranked Mode match will include a maximum of 64 players (that's quite a bit less than the usual 100 player limit) and players will compete on either Erangel, Miramar or Sanhok. The red zone has also been removed, and the timing and speed of the blue zone have been increased.
Bot opponents
Seemingly undeterred by the criticism from console players, developer PUBG Corp is adding bots to the PC version of PUBG with update 7.2. Thankfully there is a way to avoid them as they'll only appear in normal games, but it's a divisive addition nonetheless. Bots are also designed to appear less frequently as your skill increases, but that hasn't been the case sadly, which the developers are aware of.
Gameplay balances
More adjustments have been to made to the strength and characteristics of each weapon type, with the M416 receiving a slight nerf, while other assault rifles such as the M16A4, Beryl M762 and MK47 Mutant will get a nice buff.
One of the biggest new gameplay changes is how gas cans can be used. You can now pour fuel onto the ground and light it with a weapon or throwable, and you can rain fire down upon your opponents by shooting a thrown gas can while it's mid-air. Frustratingly, we'll have to wait a little longer for the gas can changes to arrive as PUBG Corp has pulled them from the latest patch due to technical issues.
Introducing Season 7: Vikendi returns, along with a ‘new’ weapon and Survivor Pass
Update 7.1 sees the long-awaited return of Vikendi, PUBG’s snow-covered map that was unceremoniously hooked during Season 6. The old Vikendi was generally disliked by players due to its many performance issues and rather uninspiring locations. That’s all changed this time around, though, as Vikendi has received a significant face-lift and a bevy of new attractions for players to wage war on.
The old dilapidated Dino Park has now been transformed into the fun-loving Dinoland, which has been completely remade to feel like a proper amusement park. There are also nine functioning trains that chug around the map – and yes, you can ride them to one of the 12 stations.
Further changes include tweaks and redesigns to certain locations, such as Abbey and Mount Kreznik, and you’ll notice there’s a lot less snow on the ground now, too. For that reason, the snow bikes and snowmobiles have been removed in favor of the standard motorcycle, and motorcycle with sidecar.
It wouldn’t be a big new update without a fresh weapon being added to the mix, although the Mosin-Nagant isn’t entirely new. It’s essentially a re-skin of the popular Kar98k, but it does sport its own unique look and sound effects. Hey, we’re all for variety, so it’s not a deal breaker by any means.
Finally, there’s a brand-new Survivor Pass to grind through, called ‘Cold Front’. It consists of 100 levels full of unlockable skins, experience bonuses, challenges to complete and emotes to collect.
What's the latest PUBG update for Xbox One and PS4?
Season 7 is out now
Since Season 6, developer PUBG Corporation has tried to align its PC and console updates more closely. Usually it takes about two weeks before consoles catch up with the PC version of the game, but that gap has closed recently, particularly with the release of Season 7 which arrived April 28. It brings all the goodies from the PC version, including new Vikendi and the Survivor Pass: Cold Front.
One of the biggest changes to PUBG on consoles is the addition of bots, which have been added to each map. While it’s an update that is bound to cause controversy among the purists, bots have been included to help new players get familiar with the game. In a recent blog post, PUBG Corporation outlined how bots will work in the game, with the intention that they act like your average human player, but are obviously easier to kill.
It looks like console players will finally get to leave bots behind as the long-awaited Ranked Mode arrives on May 26 as part of update 7.2, according to the developer.
Can I play PUBG on mobile?
Yes! With PUBG mobile, you can win chicken dinners directly from your phone. The game is more arcade-like and accessible than the PC and console versions of the game, but it shares all the maps and features that players have come to enjoy. You can expect things like auto pick-up, aim assist and touchscreen controls and other mobile optimizations.
To play PUBG on your mobile, you’ll need to be using at least iOS 9 (that’s an iPhone 5S or newer) and Android owners must be using 5.1.1. Lollipop or later. You’ll also need 2GB or RAM to play the game, and 900 MB of free space.
In the latest patch, PUBG mobile has received a ‘Death Replay’ option, letting you see who the hell shot you in the back, and ‘Arctic Mode’, a brand new survival experience that will be available soon.
What is PUBG Lite?
PUBG Lite is a stripped-down version of PUBG that’s designed for lower-spec hardware. PUBG is notoriously taxing on GPUs and CPUs, so PUBG Lite was created so that more people could get in on the battle royale craze. It’s a great alternative if you don’t own a powerful gaming PC or console to play on, plus it’s free-to-play.
Can I play PUBG on Stadia?
You sure can! The game is free to Stadia Pro members, and supports cross-play with Xbox One and PS4. It's the most up-to-date version of the game, too, which means it includes all the maps and the latest features from the recent 7.1 update. There's no download or patches, either, so you can start playing instantly.
What's coming to PUBG on PC?
Although new content is always in the pipeline along with regular performance updates, the developers of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds are taking the fight to cheaters in 2020. In a dev letter to players, Taeseok Jang, executive producer of PUBG PC, outlined the company’s plans.
“The fight against cheat programs is never-ending and something we’ve been trying very hard to find a solution for. Last year, we spent time working on various measures to block cheat programs. Most of these actions focused on blocking cheat program developers to make it more difficult for them to create these highly lucrative cheats,” Jang explains.
“As these cheat developers excel at adapting to our measures, we chose to keep these efforts secret to increase the time it takes for them to react, as much as possible. The unfortunate side effect of this is that it makes us look like we’re doing nothing against a high-priority issue. This year, we will be making improvements to ensure players can feel the impact of our efforts."
PUBG Corporation is also turning its efforts to address PUBG’s performance issues, which continue to be a source of frustration for many players. The game has often been prone to game-breaking bugs, such as hard crashes and fluctuating frame rates, which can mean the difference between life or death in a fire fight.
Jang admitted that the developer has struggled to get the balance right between adding new content and dealing with performance. “First of all, we know it hasn’t been the best year for this category so far, with persistent network, server, and game client issues. Although providing a high level of service is always one of our top priorities, specific issues have endured for far too long and overshadow any good improvements we make. Hitching and game crashes especially have increased and remained persistent in the recent months. Your feedback has been heard loud and clear and is completely justified.”
What's coming to PUBG on Xbox One and PS4?
Along with reducing the content gap between the PC and console versions of PUBG, the developers want to continue to improve the game’s performance on console, bring further console-specific adjustments, and strengthen anti-cheat detection.
PUBG Corporation has also released a blog post that says they are investigating the possibility of bringing a 60fps performance mode to Xbox One X and PS4 Pro, which would be a huge boon for console players. Currently, PUBG is locked to 30fps on consoles, while other competitive battle royale games, such as Call of Duty: Warzone and Apex Legends, treat players to a silky-smooth 60fps experience.
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