New maps and new mechanics: The developers of PUBG have a lot planned for the next few months
Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds once kicked off the huge hype around the Battle Royale genre and was even able to report over three million players at the same time in 2017. However, the multiplayer shooter did not last too long – in the meantime, only less than 400,000 players are active on Steam at peak times.
In 2021, however, things are supposed to start looking up again: In a blog entry, the developers have announced their initial plans for the current year. The focus is on the core target group and the desire for new, large maps.
The developers are still silent about a possible PUBG 2, the development of which is said to have already begun. However, the rumour mill is bubbling:
Two new maps for 2021
After PUBG’s focus on smaller maps and separate game modes last year, the tables will be turned in 2021. The developers themselves call it the “year of the big map” and present two completely new maps. Both have one thing in common: they are 8×8 kilometres in size and thus on the same wavelength as the previous maps Erangel and Miramar.
“Codename Tiger”: The first new big map is supposed to bring together all the aspects of PUBG that fans already know – but with one crucial change. Specifically on Codename Tiger, there will be a respawn mechanic, as is already standard in Apex Legends or Call of Duty: Warzone. However, the team is still silent on the details of the mechanic.
“Codename Kiki”: The second large map is to be released at the end of 2021 or beginning of 2022. For this, the developers promise some varied locations such as:
– Skyscrapers
– swamps
– Underground laboratories
– Subways
– Underwater buildings
Codename Kiki is currently still in an early planning stage, so the team won’t reveal exact information until later in the year.
Remaster of Miramar
The general overhaul of Miramar is clearly more concrete. After the development team already redesigned Erangel some time ago, it is now the turn of the desert map. The improvements include the following points:
– improved lighting
– revised textures of buildings and surroundings
– improved performance
– removal of unnecessary obstacles
– new cliffs
– general revision of the topography
Fans won’t have to wait too long for the new Miramar. With Update 12.1, which is planned for June, the overhaul will be released. The patch is playable on the test server as of today.
What other plans are there?
Besides the two new maps and the one rework, the developers have other plans for PUBG 2021. Among other things, changes are planned for the core gameplay, even if there are no details on this at the moment. In addition, there will of course be new vehicles and weapons, as always, which will be distributed via the updates.
Apart from PUBG, the developer studio Krafton is also working on other new games. One of them is to be an open-world western shooter:
Western PUBG announced: Project Cowboy will be an open-world shooter
Whether Playerunknown’s Battleground will return to its former strength with the new maps and other changes remains to be seen. At least the developers’ ambitions are truly great.
