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Dimapur, Jan. 12 (EMN): A month after South Korean developer Krafton announced a move to a free-to-play structure for its popular battle royale game PUBG: Battlegrounds, the game has officially added the feature on Wednesday with the new 15.2 Update.
Along with free-to-play, the update also adds Tactical Gear (scout locations with drones and obtain various healing boosts for both yourself and your teammates with EMT Gear), screen ping markers and Action Queue (you can now queue in-game actions like reloads).
In anticipation for an influx of new players, the company has also revamped the training modes including two new modes: Basic Training Mode and AI Training Match, to help new players get used to the game mechanics as quick as possible.
PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS is now free-to-play! Get your squad together and drop in today!#PUBG #BATTLEGROUNDS #F2P #battlegroundsforall pic.twitter.com/L5hO2wrJiq
— PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS (@PUBG) January 12, 2022
Players will now be able to play the game for free on PC and consoles, the game was previously priced at INR 999 in India. The company has confirmed that the free tier players will be able to access most game modes, however, ranked and custom match modes will only be available for premium accounts.
The premium account is called Battlegrounds Plus and players who have bought the game before the update will automatically be upgraded to premium. Apart from access to ranked and custom matches, Battlegrounds Plus accounts will be eligible for exclusive in-game rewards.
Amid the popularity of other battle royale games like Call of Duty: Warzone and Apex Legends, which are both free-to-play, Krafton's decision to move to a free-to-play structure seems likely to be a direct response to its competition.
However, in an interview with GamesRadar, studio creative director Dave Curd denied the speculation and said that the decision was taken because the company felt it was the "right time."
"We came to the decision to make PUBG: Battlegrounds free to play because we feel that it is truly the right time," explained Curd. "They're all great games which specialise in their own unique strengths, just as we do. We develop our game independently of others and are excited to see what is to come," he said.