PUBG has become a free to play game which has led to a huge rise in the popularity of the Battle Royale game. Additionally, the game offers players who have already purchased the full title a generous in-game reward.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds update 15.2 is now available too and coincides with one of the biggest changes in gaming history. When PUBG launched in 2017 it was a huge success, but while most other mainstream battle royale games are free to play, PUBG has always been sold as a full-priced game. However, PUBG is now set to compete with games like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Apex Legends, all of which don't include barriers to entry.
The tactic also seems to have worked. According to analyst Daniel Ahmad, the game doubled its recent concurrent user count after the change. Yesterday, the game peaked with 670 players on Steam alone. That's not to say anything about the game's performance on PlayStation and Xbox consoles as well.
PUBG reached a peak of 670,000 concurrent players on Steam today after playing for free. That's double your usual number of concurrent users over the last month. However, the game also received 13 times the usual number of negative reviews from people who previously paid or harassed cheaters. https://t.co/kX1jmpjawuJanuary 12, 2022
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It will be fascinating to see if this helps PUBG in the long run. While the game is still huge in Asia, especially its mobile counterpart, it lags behind other popular battle royale titles in other territories on PC and consoles. Seeing if you can get the space back now that it's free will definitely be interesting.
What about players who already bought PUBG?
Unsurprisingly, some players who bought PUBG before it came out for free feel aggrieved. But PUBG Corporation offered compensation as a peace offering.
If you purchased PUBG before it was updated, you automatically get access to Battlegrounds Plus. This is a service that creates higher quality matches just by matching with other Plus users, as well as access to private ranked servers and XP Boosts. On top of that, it also gives players beautiful exclusive cosmetics and 1,300 G-Coin to spend.
In addition to Battlegrounds Plus, the game offers players a set of legacy skins, a legacy board, and an upgraded nameplate for battle.
How to get your free reward
However, getting the reward is not as simple as opening the game and depositing your rewards into your account. To claim the free rewards, you need to access your character customization screen. Once there, scroll down to "Miscellaneous". Section. You can then open the rewards there.
From there, you can spend your G-Coin and customize your character with the new cosmetics. G-Coin can be spent in the store, allowing you to purchase cosmetics, skins, and emotes. The giveaway should give returning players plenty of new gear to wear their avatars on, and generally better games with fewer cheaters. It's a win in our books and well worth the price of admission.