The development team of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has declared the Fix PUBG campaign over, setting the stage for the game’s 2019 roadmap.
The campaign was announced three months ago, with the goal of addressing the worst bugs and performance problems in the multiplayer Battle Royale shooter. It was launched in the middle of Fortnite‘s rise to the top of the Battle Royale genre, overtaking PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
The results of the Fix PUBG campaign were shared by executive producer Taeseok Jang though a post on the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds page on Steam. The campaign focused on four topics, listed below:
- Provide the best gameplay experience possible through client and server performance optimization
- Ensure fair gameplay with more efficient anti-cheat solutions using all available means
- Smarter and faster matchmaking through improved matchmaking logic
- Fix bugs that degrade the experience while applying long-requested QOL improvements
One of the key goals of the Fix PUBG campaign was optimization, and the development team showed that the frames-per-second performance of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has significantly increased in November compared to July. Server performance has also improved, particularly during the early game, as that was determined to be the worst part of each match.
Matchmaking in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds remains complex, but the development team is considering giving players the choice of which games to join by providing better queue information for all maps and modes. An overhaul of the matchmaking user interface is in consideration, so that players will be provided accurate information on estimated waiting times and ping levels.
The PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds development team claims to have banned more than 2 million accounts for cheating over the three-month span of the Fix PUBG campaign. Unauthorized programs are being constantly banned, and some organizations behind the software have been arrested by the authorities. Hardware bans to address cheaters who just keep making new accounts after being banned are also coming soon.
The Fix PUBG campaign started with a list of 100 bugs and quality of life improvements, and the development team has addressed all of them. The team expressed gratitude to players who submit bug reports, and is preparing a new system that will allow players to submit bug reports and monitor the progress of their resolution.
For the 2019 PUBG roadmap, the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds development team will focus on build stability and quality before rolling out new Battle Royale gameplay and new content. This will slow down the release of new features at first, but the team is hoping that it will get back to speed quickly while still maintaining its new priorities.
“We know there are many things to improve upon, but we do have a sense that we more accurately feel what you, the players want and need. While this is the end of the Fix PUBG campaign, we will go forward in our development, improve our processes, and redouble our efforts with the lessons learned,” wrote Taeseok to end the post.
