Krafton announced today that PUBG: Battlegrounds is now free-to-play (F2P) on PC and consoles. The move to F2P, announced at the Game Awards (TGA) last month, marks the beginning of a new era for the globally popular battle royale game.

Battlegrounds Plus will be an optional premium account upgrade in PUBG: Battlegrounds after the transition to F2P, giving players access to a variety of new and exclusive in-game features.

Plus subscription: bonuses for around 13 euros

All players will initially start with a basic account, which they can upgrade to Battlegrounds Plus for a one-time fee of $12,99. In return, you get access to the following features:

  • 1.300 G COIN bonus
  • Survival Masters XP + 100 percent boost
  • Career-Medal Tab
  • Ranked Mode
  • Custom match function
  • In-game items including the Captain's Camo Set which consists of a hat, camouflage mask and camouflage gloves.

All players who purchased and played PUBG: Battlegrounds before the switch to F2P will receive the PUBG - Special Commemorative Pack. This includes an automatic upgrade to Battlegrounds Plus, as well as the in-game items Battle Hardened Costume Skin Set, Shackle and Shanks Legacy Pan, and the Battle Hardened Legacy Nameplate.

In addition to the F2P transition, the new update 15.2 is now in PUBG: Battlegrounds accessible. Update 15.2 introduces a new category of in-game items called tactical gear. It offers players numerous options to improve their in-game performance that do not relate to pure gunplay. But that's not all. Here is a full overview of the main features added to the game with update 15.2:

  • Advanced roles with tactical equipment: Tactical Gear are unique items that players can obtain to provide additional support to their team during a match. Tactical Gear occupies the primary weapon slot, but opens up additional strategic options previously unavailable in the game:
    • Drone: The Drone is a piece of tactical gear that allows players to scout at great distances and even pick up items without putting themselves at risk of direct combat. The drone will spawn on every map and has a range of action of 300 meters.
    • Medical equipment: The Medic Kit is a piece of tactical gear that allows players to increase their healing potential for themselves and their team. In doing so, however, they lose flexibility in combat. Players with medical gear can heal injured teammates with their own healing items. When the Medic Kit is equipped, you can toggle between different healing items where the screen normally shows the equipped weapon's fire mode. The medical kit will spawn on every map.
  • Improved game flow with the new action queue: With the Action Queue feature, players prepare their next desired action by holding down the appropriate button while a specific action is in progress. The action is then executed immediately following the current one. For example, if a player holds down the fire button while reloading, the weapon will fire immediately after the reload finishes. This feature is turned off by default in-game, but can be toggled in Settings → Gameplay.
  • Improved onboarding experience for new players with revised tutorials: In order to provide better gaming experience not only for new players but also for returning ones, two tutorial modes are added to the game:
    • Basic training mode: In this mode, players can play through five phases in order to become familiar with the most important game mechanics. Including the basic character movements, looting and shooting weapons, looting and throwing items, using healing items and reviving knocked out teammates.
    • AI Training Match: In this mode, players can throw themselves into a match with 99 AI-controlled survivors to experience the typical flow of normal matches. Tutorial messages will appear during each match, giving players suggestions on how to approach a variety of scenarios.
    • Lobby Tutorial Missions: After completing the basic training mode and AI training matches, players can complete a series of additional tutorial missions that introduce them to additional game modes and features. Players who complete these missions will receive various in-game rewards.
  • Game Quality Improvements by Screen Ping Marking: The game's existing ping system has been improved with the addition of the ability to display the ping on screen where the player can see it. This improvement to the ping system is available in all Solo, Duo and Squad modes, but not in Ranked and Esports modes. The goal of this update is to enable faster and better communication between squadmates.

The full patch notes for update 15.2 are available here .

When PUBG: Battlegrounds entered Steam Early Access in 2017, it popularized the battle royale gaming genre. To date, the game has sold more than 75 million copies on PC and consoles, making it one of the best-selling games of all time. In the almost five years since its release, PUBG: Battlegrounds has continued to build on its early success and evolved with constant updates including new maps, game modes and gameplay features. The PUBG brand has now also evolved into a multimedia franchise.

Last updated on 25.05.2023/XNUMX/XNUMX / Affiliate Links / Images from the Amazon Product Advertising API. * = Affiliate links. Images from Amazon PA API