Cory Karr

Mobile games and controversial real-money loot boxes (that can be traded for real-money value on Steam) have been the focus for PUBG as of late, leaving the door wide open for top competitor, free-to-play Fortnite to become the more popular game, both in player counts and in online streaming serviAs PUBG came closer to launch, many of the small updates, in addition to the expected refinements and tweaks, included new weapons or clothing items, with the former primarily being loot crate-exclusive guns that weren’t common enough to have a drastic impact on the core gameplay for most players. While these small additions were welcome, and would continue to be so over the months to come, Bluehole will have to set their sights higher if they want to keep old players returning and attract new players. Considering how large an impact the second map has made upon the playerbase, concrete details regarding a third or fourth map could spark intrigue among the community, as well as the assortment of new vehicles that could be found within it. Beyond the predictable, Bluehole and PUBG Corp. likely have a few surprises up their sleeves as PUBG enters its second year and it will be interesting to see whether or not the developers can curb the current downward trend of one of 2017’s definitive titles. Unfortunately, Greene wouldn't say anything regarding actual details, nor would he reveal any of the new weapons, potential modes or vehicles coming to the game. The update didn't talk about the Xbox version of the game or loot boxes either, but it did offer some examples of aesthetic changes coming to existing assets - improving the look and level of detail on buildings. The biggest reveal however (the only real reveal) is that of a smaller, 4x4km island map designed to offer players a quicker battle royale experie PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds publisher Bluehole Studio's announced recently (via VG247 ) the release of new, 4x4 map for the game dubbed "Savage". This small new map is being made available early for testing purposes and will be changed as player feedback rolls in. The new map won't be available via the server either; instead, PUBG will distribute keys to a limited number of playAt this point, very few people within the various communities of gaming need an explainer regarding the multiplayer phenomenon that is PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Over the past eleven months, the survival title has broken numerous player and sales records , while consistently shocking and entertaining the internet with its onslaught of clips and GIFs that highlight the insanity of the hundred-player arena game. As developer Bluehole finally pushed PUBG out of early access at the end of last year, the most-played title for months on Steam has finally started to show some cracks in its armor, with Steam Charts reporting a loss of average players of over one hundred thousand over the past thirty days, marking the first decline in the title’s history. As alarming as that may seem, there’s no reason for panic quite yet; PUBG’s impressive numbers inevitably had to dip after such a lengthy run and the title is still the number one played game on Steam by over a million players. There is, however, reason to be concerned if that decay continues over the weeks and months to come, but there are some steps Bluehole and PUBG Corporation can take to avoid any major drops beyond the inevitable. The player verses player (PvP) action game pits up to one-hundred players against each other in a battle royale similar to The Hunger Games where the last man standing wins. Each match starts with the players parachuting from a plane onto a massive map representing an abandoned wasteland filled with decrepit buildings, various weapons ranging from guns, rifles, machetes and frying pans, cars, grenades and other gear used to defend yourself and kill other players. It's a fairly brutal game with no music, just the sounds of gunshots in the distance, as you fight to survive while the playable area on the map grows smaller and smaller. The start-up game was originally made for the PC but, due to its overwhelming success, it was recently updated and made for the Xbox One selling 3 million copies despite some glaring issu That's okay for now since PUBG is one of the best-selling games ever and accomplished this in less than a year, and it is still one of the most popular games on the internet. But H1Z1 was in a similar spot a year ago and some slow development and bad decision-making saw it fall off the map. Even its recent launch out of early access and going free-to-play today cannot save H1Z1 so in response to all of this, Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene finally took to community to lay out plans for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds in 2018 and it's about damn t Considering the fact that PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Steam sales have made it the third-highest grossing game on Valve's digital distribution platform, it's safe to say that the battle royale title is a bona fide success. Of course, many would still argue that the game suffers from a litany of issues, with one ever-present complaint from lots of fans being about how Chinese cheaters are making PUBG maps matches unfair. This has led to plenty of calls for PUBG Corp. to "region lock China," but its creator Brendan Greene disagrees that it's a viable solution to the prob

Mobile games and controversial real-money loot boxes (that can be traded for real-money value on Steam) have been the focus for PUBG as of late, leaving the door wide open for top competitor, free-to-play Fortnite to become the more popular game, both in player counts and in online streaming serviAs PUBG came closer to launch, many of the small updates, in addition to the expected refinements and tweaks, included new weapons or clothing items, with the former primarily being loot crate-exclusive guns that weren’t common enough to have a drastic impact on the core gameplay for most players. While these small additions were welcome, and would continue to be so over the months to come, Bluehole will have to set their sights higher if they want to keep old players returning and attract new players. Considering how large an impact the second map has made upon the playerbase, concrete details regarding a third or fourth map could spark intrigue among the community, as well as the assortment of new vehicles that could be found within it. Beyond the predictable, Bluehole and PUBG Corp. likely have a few surprises up their sleeves as PUBG enters its second year and it will be interesting to see whether or not the developers can curb the current downward trend of one of 2017’s definitive titles. Unfortunately, Greene wouldn't say anything regarding actual details, nor would he reveal any of the new weapons, potential modes or vehicles coming to the game. The update didn't talk about the Xbox version of the game or loot boxes either, but it did offer some examples of aesthetic changes coming to existing assets - improving the look and level of detail on buildings. The biggest reveal however (the only real reveal) is that of a smaller, 4x4km island map designed to offer players a quicker battle royale experie PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds publisher Bluehole Studio's announced recently (via VG247 ) the release of new, 4x4 map for the game dubbed "Savage". This small new map is being made available early for testing purposes and will be changed as player feedback rolls in. The new map won't be available via the server either; instead, PUBG maps will distribute keys to a limited number of playAt this point, very few people within the various communities of gaming need an explainer regarding the multiplayer phenomenon that is PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Over the past eleven months, the survival title has broken numerous player and sales records , while consistently shocking and entertaining the internet with its onslaught of clips and GIFs that highlight the insanity of the hundred-player arena game. As developer Bluehole finally pushed PUBG out of early access at the end of last year, the most-played title for months on Steam has finally started to show some cracks in its armor, with Steam Charts reporting a loss of average players of over one hundred thousand over the past thirty days, marking the first decline in the title’s history. As alarming as that may seem, there’s no reason for panic quite yet; PUBG’s impressive numbers inevitably had to dip after such a lengthy run and the title is still the number one played game on Steam by over a million players. There is, however, reason to be concerned if that decay continues over the weeks and months to come, but there are some steps Bluehole and PUBG Corporation can take to avoid any major drops beyond the inevitable. The player verses player (PvP) action game pits up to one-hundred players against each other in a battle royale similar to The Hunger Games where the last man standing wins. Each match starts with the players parachuting from a plane onto a massive map representing an abandoned wasteland filled with decrepit buildings, various weapons ranging from guns, rifles, machetes and frying pans, cars, grenades and other gear used to defend yourself and kill other players. It's a fairly brutal game with no music, just the sounds of gunshots in the distance, as you fight to survive while the playable area on the map grows smaller and smaller. The start-up game was originally made for the PC but, due to its overwhelming success, it was recently updated and made for the Xbox One selling 3 million copies despite some glaring issu That's okay for now since PUBG is one of the best-selling games ever and accomplished this in less than a year, and it is still one of the most popular games on the internet. But H1Z1 was in a similar spot a year ago and some slow development and bad decision-making saw it fall off the map. Even its recent launch out of early access and going free-to-play today cannot save H1Z1 so in response to all of this, Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene finally took to community to lay out plans for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds in 2018 and it's about damn t Considering the fact that PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Steam sales have made it the third-highest grossing game on Valve's digital distribution platform, it's safe to say that the battle royale title is a bona fide success. Of course, many would still argue that the game suffers from a litany of issues, with one ever-present complaint from lots of fans being about how Chinese cheaters are making PUBG matches unfair. This has led to plenty of calls for PUBG Corp. to "region lock China," but its creator Brendan Greene disagrees that it's a viable solution to the prob