PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (0)

First release date

2017-03-23

Platform

PC Xbox One PlayStation 4

Developer

Bluehole Studio

Publisher

Bluehole Studio

Aliases

PUBG

Overview

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (stylized as PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS) is a multiplayer shooter developed and published digitally by for the (via ) as an title on March 23, 2017 (with a full release sometime in December 2017). It will be released for the as an title on December 12, 2017 and was also announced for the .

It was developed under direction of (who goes by the alias PLAYERUNKNOWN), a who previously created the original "Battle Royale" mods (inspired by the of the same name) for (as an offshoot of the DayZ mod) and and who previously collaborated with on .

Set in a large uninhabited 64km² island, each match in the game begins with up to 100 players parachuting down at different points from a large aircraft. Whether or not the game is played in teams, players must scavenge weapons, armor, and other items and with and a contracting "safe zone" (an electrical field which slowly kills players outside of its radius).

Running in , the game is still in development with new maps, game modes, modding support, and other content.

Gameplay

In PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, each match begins with up to 100 players, who are flown over the map in a straight line. Each player may choose when to eject, parachuting down to the ground. Players then fight to the death with no respawns. The last player or team left alive wins.

The game can be played in either first-person or third-person perspectives, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

Players start with no weapons or items. Weapons, ammo, clothing and other supplies are randomly scattered across the island for players to scavenge for and use to aid their survival against other players. Killed players may also be looted. Weapons are common, with at least one in nearly every building.

There are also pilotable vehicles including; cars, trucks, motorcycles, dune buggies and boats.

At regular intervals during the match, the safe zone will contract, forcing remaining players to cluster together in a tighter and tighter space. Players who linger outside the safe zone are slowly damaged (and eventually killed) by an electric field. The damage increases as the match goes on.

There are currently three modes of play in Battlegrounds (with more to be added as development continues): Solo, Duos, and Squads. Solo is a 100 player free-for-all with no pre-made groups, whereas Duos allow fifty pairs of players to compete, and Squads allows for an assortment of groups sized anywhere from 1-4 players.

Weapons

The various weapons scattered around the island are divided into several categories. In the broadest sense, there are four major categories, these being long guns (assault rifles, shotguns, SMGs, etc.), pistols, melee weapons, and grenades.

Long Guns

Long guns fill the primary and secondary weapon slots (hotkeys 1 and 2) in the order picked up. These are further subdivided into designated marksman rifles (DMRs), assault rifles, sniper rifles, submachine guns (SMGs), light machine guns (LMGs), shotguns, and bows.

Designated Marksman Rifles (DMRs)

The SKS, the Mini 14, and the Mk14 EBR are the three DMRs in the game. Both the SKS and Mk14 EBR have 10 round standard clips, expandable to 20 with extended mags while the Mini 14 has a 20 round clip, expandable to 30. The SKS and Mini 14 are semi automatic rifles, while the Mk14 EBR can switch between semi and full auto. The SKS and Mk14 EBR take 7.62mm bullets, the Mini 14 takes 5.56mm ammo. The Mk14 EBR can only be found in air drops.

Assault Rifles

There are currently five assault rifles in the game, these being the AKM, the M16A4, the M416, the SCAR-L, and the Groza. All five use a 30 round clip as standard, expandable to 40 round clips with extended mags. the M16A4, the M416 and the SCAR-L use 5.56mm ammo. The AKM and Groza use 7.62mm instead. The Groza can only be found in air drop crates.

Sniper Rifles

There are two sniper rifles to be found around the island and an additional two that are only found in air drops. The two common rifles are the VSS Vintorez (10 bullet mag, 9mm rounds) and the Karabiner 98 Kurz (5 bullet mag, 7.62mm ammo). The VSS compes with a permanent 4x scope and a suppressor and is the only sniper rifle that can go full auto; Every other sniping weapon is single shot. The air drop weapons are the M24 (5 bullet mag, 7.62 mag) and the AMW (5 bullet mag, .300 ammo).

Submachine Guns (SMGs)

There are currently four SMGs on the island, the Micro-Uzi, the UMP9, the Vector, and the Tommy Gun. The Micro-Uzi sports a 25 round clip of 9mm shells (extendable to 35 with extended mags), the UMP can hold 30 9mm shells (40 with extended mag) and the Vector has a 13 round clip of .45 bullets (25 bullets with extended mag). The Tommy Gun also uses .45 rounds and has a standard clip of 30 bullets (50 with extended mag). The Tommy Gun was previously only in crate drops with a 100 round magazine.

Light Machine Guns (LMGs)

Only one LMG is in the game, and it (predictably) can only be found in air drops. The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) has a 100 round clip of 5.56mm ammo.

Shotguns

Useful tools for close quarters combat, there are three shotguns to be found on the island. All of them take 12 gauge shotgun shells and have various loading methods. The S686 is a double barrel "defend the farm from Clive Owen" style gun and both shells are loaded at once. The S1897 is your traditional "pull back the part under the barrel to reload" style shotgun and holds 5 rounds, loaded one at a time. The S12K is a semi-automatic, magazine fed weapon that also holds 5 shells, loaded all at once.

Bows

The crossbow is currently the only bow on the island. It uses bolts which can be loaded one at a time. Advantages include its lack of a gunshot sound giving you away, but at the expense of range or multiple shots without reloading.

Pistols

Three of the four pistols on the island make for useful initial weapons and a good back up for players who don't have time to reload in a gun battle. The fourth is a borderline SMG. They fill the third weapon slot and are hotkeyed to 3. All three semi auto pistols use different ammo, from the 9mm P92 (15 round clip) to the slow loading R1895 revolver (7 rounds of 7.62mm bullets) to the .45 caliber P1911 (also a 7 round clip). The fourth gun, a Glock P18C, uses 9mm ammo to fill its 17 round clip and can go full auto.

Melee Weapons

If no firearm or bow presents istelf, there is always a simple alternative; hitting people really hard. This can be done with fists (standard issue) or by finding one of the four melee weapons on the island, these being the crowbar, sickle, machete, and frying pan. Of these, the frying pan is the most sought after as its large surface can actually deflect bullets when strapped to the players belt. Melee weapons get hotkeyed to 4 when picked up, however the player can revert to fists by simply putting away their current weapon (by pushing X).

Grenades

Four grenade types exist to hurl at enemies. Only one grenade type can be equipped at once and it gets hotkeyed to 5. The smoke grenade is great for creating confusion in buildings or covering a retreat or advance out in the open. Stun grenades are essentially flash bangs, temporarily blinding and deafening your opponents. Frag grenades are hand sized explosives that kill people in the blast radius. Molotov cocktails set things on fire in a splash area when thrown, but take time to prepare as the player has to light the cloth sticking out of the bottle. Also, apples can be found in the lobby which can be hurled like grenades... for practice. They cause no notable effects.