Winner winner, chicken dinner! The critically acclaimed and globally popular battle-royale phenomenon PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS has gone free-to-play (F2P) with its 15.2 update. This comes along with a slew of changes and other features, but the most anticipated has been the F2P transition, announced last month at The Game Awards. KRAFTON Inc, the developer/publisher behind the project, has been outspoken about bringing its game to a larger audience even after having sold more than 75 million copies across PC and consoles. With this update, you can now squad up with your neighbors, coworkers, or random angsty teens from across the world. However, you won’t necessarily be getting the ENTIRE game free.
With this move to F2P, PUBG will be offering a ‘BATTLEGROUNDS Plus’ premium account upgrade that gives players access to a large assortment of new and exclusive in-game features. While new players start with a basic account that allows the use of most game features, they can upgrade their account to ‘BATTLEGROUNDS Plus’ for a one-time charge of $12.99 USD. This upgrade gives players in-game currency and items, experience boosts, and access to ranked mode and custom matches
This F2P change includes additional gear for previous owners of the game, who will receive the ‘PUBG-Special Commemorative Pack’, which includes an automatic account upgrade to ‘BATTLEGROUNDS Plus’, and some free gear; most notably the Shackle and Shanks Legacy Pan.
The 15.2 update also brings with it some major features to improve gameplay! Tactical Gear will expand the role selection for squads, such as a Drone to use for scouting and EMT Gear to increase a player’s medical potential. While these Tactical Gear items take up a primary weapon slot, they are sure to increase flexibility for full squads looking to capitalize on their teamwork and communication.
All of these new players coming will appreciate the inclusion of an all-new onboarding experience, with revamped tutorials like a Basic Training mode and an AI Training Match. Being able to familiarize yourself with the intricacies of the battle royale before you drop into real combat will be a lifesaver, and will really enable new players to be confident in their first series of games.
While these are the biggest changes in this groundbreaking update, there are some other quality-of-life changes that you can read in the full patch notes HERE.
PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS is now free-to-play on PC and all consoles. Are you going to be picking it up? Let us know in the comments, and best of luck to everyone as they hop out of the plane, pick up their pan, and try to get that sweet, sweet chicken dinner.
