The Game Awards 2021: PUBG Battlegrounds Announces Move For Free-To-Play Starting In January

While the industry still pays full price for $60+ for a new video game at launch, the video game market is shifting to free-to-play properties as well. Even premium priced entries are migrating to the business model. In the past, we witnessed juggernauts such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Rocket League make the move in the past. The most recent is Halo Infinite doing a similar routine outright.

Now, PUBG Battlegrounds is taking the same path. From a recent trailer at The Game Awards, Krafton shared it will be moving over to the new endeavor on January 12th for PUBG Battlegrounds. The Pre-registration schedule is live now for those interested. You can watch the announcement trailer in the video below:

“Over the years, PUBG: Battlegrounds has seen many changes since it debuted on Steam Early Access. In a humbling turn of events, fans around the world embraced our version of Battle Royale as they experienced the game’s tension, realistic gunplay, and edge of your seat action,” the firm writes in the announcement. Following this unprecedented success, Battlegrounds found its way to multiple other platforms, expanding to console and mobile players alike.

“But now, it’s time for Battlegrounds Battlegrounds to make its biggest leap of all; Free to Play. Battlegrounds Free-to-play now gives us the opportunity to expand our community even more and bring all the thrills of the game to everyone, while providing new friends, faster matchmaking, and let’s be honest, more targets for our existing player base.”

In recent events aligning to PUBG Battlegrounds, the firm recently said its goodbyes to creator Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene. He went on to start up a new venture, PlayerUnknown Productions. Krafton additionally launched PUBG: New State which illustrates the parent company’s interest in experimenting with free-to-play on mobile devices.

Elsewhere from Krafton, the firm in November acquired Unknown Worlds Entertainment. While the team is to continue work on its Subnatutica IP, there is an unnamed project Krafton has the team involved in as well. There is no current plans regarding Subnautica going free-to-play sadly. You can read the full report by heading here.

Are you excited that PUBG Battlegrounds is going free-to-play.

PUBG Battlegrounds is out now for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Android, iOS, and Stadia.

Source: Krafton