Skip to main content

The Fix PUBG campaign is over: What’s next for ‘PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds’?

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.

Recommended Videos

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.

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…
The best Zelda dungeons, ranked
Link and Zelda under Hyrule Castle in "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom."

There are a lot of metrics I could use to rank the best Zelda games. I could talk about the best Zelda bosses, the worlds, items, and more, but I believe the dungeons are the biggest individual factor in deciding how each game stacks up to the others. These are the meat of every Zelda game. All the combat and puzzle solving happens here, and the excitement of exploring each one is what pushes us to want to explore these worlds. The boss is the icing on the cake, but a good dungeon can be the highlight of the entire game. Looking back at all Zelda games, I have made some tough calls to bring you a list of the best Zelda dungeons, ranked.

#10 Eagle's Tower - Link's Awakening

Read more
We need to start having real conversations about AI in gaming
Copilot Quake II game.

AI has become a dirty word across almost every discipline over the past few years. As big corporations keep pushing this technology forward, a vocal resistance among creatives, critics, and passionate communities has risen up in opposition. While every creative medium is at risk of AI influence now, gamers are particularly sensitive about this technology sucking the creativity and human element from our beloved medium. Even the mere mention of AI being used in game development triggers a massive backlash, but we need to start being more nuanced in how we talk about the ways AI should and should not be used. Because, like it or not, AI is going to become more ubiquitous in gaming. We can't keep talking about AI as though it is a black-and-white thing. It is a tool, and like any tool, there are ways it can be used appropriately.

The question we need to ask ourselves now is, when is it ethical to use and what crosses the line?

Read more
Mecha Break is the closest I’ve felt to piloting a real Gundam outside Japan
Key art for Mecha Break.

In 2015, in a mostly-empty arcade in Fukuoka, I slid into the pilot seat of a Gundam.

I pulled the door down, watching as it seamlessly merged with the rest of the wall and turned into a display of my surroundings. As I pulled the earpiece down, the radio crackled to life as other pilots greeted me through comms.

Read more