PUBG: Battlegrounds goes free-to-play January 12, existing owners get free Battlegrounds Plus

PUBG: Battlegrounds really kickstarted the popularity of the battle royale genre back in 2017 when it launched. Bringing realistic gunplay and “non-stop action” to the community was what made PUBG famous in those early months. With a large player base, the game ultimately remained paid and other titles, like Fortnite and Apex Legends, began to rise. Well, starting January 12, 2022, PUBG: Battlegrounds joins the free-to-play ranks and will reach the “broadest possible audience” finally. What does this mean for those who have already purchased the game? Let’s take a closer look.

PUBG: Battlegrounds goes free-to-play

While PUBG will go free-to-play, and the majority of the game won’t cost a time, there are still some features and modes that will be locked behind a Battlegrounds Plus account.

Having a Battlegrounds Plus account will lend you the ability to join in on the game’s Ranked Mode as well as create and play custom matches. The upgrade also delivers new items including a hat, mask, glove, and G-COIN.

Existing players won’t be left out in the cold though, as the development team knows they wouldn’t be where they are today without the game’s long-time supporters. Anyone who owns the game prior to the free-to-play transition will automatically receive a PUBG – Special Commemorative Pack, which gives you an instant upgrade to Battlegrounds Plus as well as various other rewards, applied automatically once the transition takes place.

However, not everything will be locked behind a paywall with the latest PUBG: Battlegrounds upgrade. There’s a free-to-play registration site where you can earn rewards just by signing up. There are “many events” prepared that you can enjoy until January 12, when the game finally goes free-to-play, and you can even earn limited-edition items during this time period.

9to5Toys’ take

PUBG is an OG when it comes to battle royale, as already mentioned. While I don’t have a lot of time in the game, I’ll likely fire it up here and there once it goes free-to-play in January. The battle royale genre feels a bit stale these days to me, so it’s nice that PUBG might bring life once again to the famed category that took the world by storm just a few years ago. I also think that PUBG is doing it right and offering those who have already purchased the game the Battlegrounds Plus upgrade at no charge.

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