The launch build of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds should arrive in “early November,” Bluehole and PUBG Corporation have announced. Test servers featuring the new vaulting and climbing systems will also arrive in the next few days. But we’ll have to keep waiting to learn the exact day PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds will exit Early Access and be replaced by PUBG v1.0.
PUBG Corp. says it will turn on the game’s test servers “at least three times” before releasing the launch build next month. The studio says players will also get an early look at bug fixes, balance tweaks and other chances we’ll see in the launch build. But PUBG Corp’s primary goal for the testing period is to see the dynamic vaulting and climbing mechanics functioning properly in a live environment. And the company is asking PUBG players to spend some time in the test environment to help get the new mechanics ready for launch.
“Vaulting and climbing feature is the main content of this patch, and it needs a minimum of three days of extensive testing,” the team wrote. “We ask you to play in the test servers, and try this feature out. We will make a separate announcement about a detailed schedule and the contents of the first round of test servers soon. We will do the same for the second and third rounds of test servers which will follow.”
The studio also released patch notes for the next update that will hit the Early Access version of PUBG. The biggest change is an increase to the damage players take when standing outside the playzone, a tweak implemented as a direct result of community feedback. The team says it would rather see players engaging one another in strategic skirmishes during the mid and late game than constantly watching the blue zone for stragglers.
Here are the patch notes for this week’s update, via Steam:
Gameplay
Increased the blue zone DOT (Damage over Time)
Bug Fix
Resolved a bug where bullets would sometimes ignore armor
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is available in Early Access. The launch build is expected to hit Steam before the end of 2017. A Xbox One port is currently slated for early 2018.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds news in 2017 and as long as PUBG Corp. supports PUBG in the years ahead.
