'PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' Will Exit Early Access This December

By Brittany Vincent
published

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is finally leaving Early Access in late December. After less than a year in the program, the game will finally receive a full release. It’s meant to happen at some point near the end of the month after the Xbox One version launches via Xbox Game Preview on December 12. A specific date has yet to be nailed down at this time.

After PUBG leaves Early Access, it will then receive the upcoming 1.0 update for the PC version, which is meant to include the long-anticipated new desert map, vaulting, 3D replays, and a smattering of other major changes that should please fans. The news came during an official livestream today during Paris Games Week. The PUBG developers themselves were on hand to make the announcement.

The Xbox One version of the game will also feature the vaulting system, which is in the process of making its way to PC test servers in the near future. PUBG Corp. CEO Chang Han Kim noted in a press release that, although the two versions of the game will be available at the same time, they won’t be exactly the same at first.

“Both versions are being developed at the same time,” Kim noted, “but they both have their own separate roadmaps. Various Xbox One features and functionality will change and come online over time just like they have on PC, with our goal being to have both versions align to each other as soon as possible."

So whether you’ve chosen to jump on the PUBG bandwagon with the release of the console version or can’t wait to dig into the PC version fresh after the 1.0 patch is available, you’ve got plenty of things to look forward to in the multiplayer game. With games like Fornite: Battle Royale creeping around the periphery of PUBG’s success, news of the console release date and Early Access exit couldn’t have come at a better time.

Brittany Vincent
Topics
Gaming
5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Tanyac
    I hope they fix the fact that the game also cooks GPUs and heats your home for you rather well
    Reply
  • PCGamerJohn
    20329867 said:
    I hope they fix the fact that the game also cooks GPUs and heats your home for you rather well

    True, and it cooks CPUs. I hope there's some optimization included - currently folks need hefty system specs to run it well. But I'm afraid Pubg will end up being one of those games that's going to tax your system. "But can it run (Crysis) Pubg?"
    Reply
  • dstarr3
    I wouldn't expect any big improvements, if any at all. Of course, the RIGHT thing to do would be to finish development of the game properly. But in reality, the game has sold over 10,000,000 copies, the vast majority of the sales it's ever going to get. Continuing development is just throwing money away. As a business decision, it makes perfect sense to say "Well, ten million people can't be wrong! It's finished! Thanks for the cash!"

    It's a scumbaggy thing to do, to basically just take the money and run, but it wouldn't be the first time Early Access flash-in-the-pan devs demonstrated themselves as being capable of such a thing.
    Reply
  • gjbaker003
    Unfortunately the devs have insulted and upset their primary customer-base by focusing more time and resources on the Xbox One version of the game and launching it on that platform sooner, instead of polishing and pushing the original version of the game out of early access on PC first. I get that it's a business and once they signed that exclusivity deal, they were more than likely pressured to get a product on the shelves by Christmas. PC players have been begging for optimization since day one, and we have gotten some decent patches coupled with shiny new skins and weapons to distract from the fact that the game still performs incredibly poor on most systems unless you are running a 1080ti and a 7th gen Intel or better.

    The community is fading and I'm not sure it's a game that really needed a new platform. Not to mention that the originator of the game, Playerunknown, seems to be more of a spokesperson for the game at this point and no longer really in creative control. Which is worrisome. It is a really intense and fun game to play when it runs well and you aren't placed in a match with a hacker - but those times seem few and far between nowadays.

    To be fair, Fortnite was a flop of a game that implemented a Battle Royale mode to ride the coat tails of PUBG and try to save a failed game. To their credit, it worked. But for those who want more of a sim-type battle royale game, PUBG is King until someone comes along to do it better.
    Reply
  • kevson1990
    Ok if this is actually true, i take back all the negative things i said about this game due to it being in Early access and would never ever be finished.

    Humbly in advance i ask forgiveness for my remarks as i have been influenced by the DayZ virus and also, I'm out of beans.

    http://battlegroundsarmory.com/
    Reply