PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS News

Last month, we released update 7.2, which brought the long-awaited Ranked Mode to the Battlegrounds.

While we were expecting some cheaters to emerge in this mode, we’d hoped our new safeguards such as SMS verification would help prevent it. Unfortunately, this did not have the effect we’d hoped for and additional countermeasures will now have to be added.

Ranked games depend heavily on the reliability of the service, so today we’d like to talk about what we’re doing to improve our anti-cheat safeguards and increase our ban intensity.

• Preliminary Measures – When players use cheats in a match, we will utilize immediate countermeasures to minimize the impact on legitimate players.
  
  • Additionally, we will improve the system to immediately ban the kicked user.
    
  • If the cheat used is easy for game logic to recognize, we will kick the cheater in real time. (This has already been applied as of June 3rd, 2020.)

• Post Measures – Cheaters use sophisticated methods to get around systems designed to stop them, so we’re also reinforcing additional measures to help our efforts.
  
  • We have analyzed the patterns of players who unfairly raise their rank and have added logic to quickly detect and automatically ban the perpetrators.
    
  • We are dedicating more people to Leaderboard monitoring to ban the players who climb the leaderboard through unfair methods.
    
  • We will monitor the top ranked players constantly and will not let cheaters stay on the leaderboard for long. We will even be monitoring players’ results, even previous results, if there is any doubt.
    
  • We are making sure that any players who receive bans cannot be listed on the Leaderboard. (This has already been applied as of June 3rd, 2020.)
    
  • We will expand the range of monitoring on any users in doubt.
    
  • We will also be banning cheaters by analyzing the cheats that falsify gun-based logs.
    
  • We’ve begun to implement a greater number of hardware bans by improving the hardware ban system. (This has already been applied as of June 3rd, 2020.)
    
  • A mobile authenticator later this year.

If these measures still do not have the impact we expect, we have other measures we are ready to introduce, including increased ban durations against repetitive wrongdoers and raising the entry bar for Ranked mode to make it more difficult for cheaters with new accounts to re-enter Ranked Mode.

We’re thrilled so many of you are loving Ranked Mode and we hate cheaters just as much as you do. As long as there is money to be made from these cheat programs, the problem will never stop, but we’re dedicated to fighting this issue as fiercely as we can. We want the same thing you do, a fair and fun environment where you can show off your skills and see where you stand in Battlegrounds history.

Thank you.

Hi everyone,

The PUBG Free Play Weekend kicks off today, giving everybody the chance to play PUBG for the next 4 days completely free! On top of the free time, players who choose to purchase the game this weekend can do so at a 50% discount. Here’s what you can expect from the event:

[h3]Free Play Weekend & 50% Off Event[/h3]

• Event Schedule: 06-04-2020 17:00 UTC ~ 06-08-2020 17:00 UTC
  
• During the event, everyone will be able to play PUBG for free
  
• During the event, PUBG will be on sale for 50% off
  
• Players participating in the PUBG Free Play Weekend who have not purchased the game won't have access to the in-game store

With recent major updates to our maps and the all-new Ranked Mode, now’s the best time to drop in and try the game that defined the Battle Royale genre. Already own PUBG? Grab some friends who have yet to take the plunge and treat your new squad to a free chicken dinner.

Promotions like this usually come with some questions, so we’ve prepared a short FAQ to answer what we can so you can focus on getting into the game and having fun with your friends.

We’ll see you on the Battlegrounds!

-

[h3]FAQ[/h3]

How long does the event last?

• The PUBG Free Play Weekend will be open from June 4th 17:00 UTC to June 8th 17:00 UTC. During this period everyone will be able to play PUBG for free and also receive a 50% discount when purchasing the game.

Is any of the content restricted or unavailable to free players?

• No. With exception to the in-game shop, Free Play Weekend participants will have access to the whole game, whether they own PUBG or not.
  
• The in-game store will become accessible after purchasing the game.

Will earned rewards be any different for free players?

• Free weekend players will receive the same rewards as regular players do.

Can free weekend players redeem codes for in-game items?

• Bonus/gift codes can be only redeemed through the in-game store, which free weekend players won't have access to.

Will my progress and rewards be saved if I choose to purchase the game later?

• All in-game rewards and achievements such as Pass rewards, BP, XP, and RP obtained during the Free Play Weekend will be saved for whenever you do purchase the game.

As the PUBG Continental Series (PCS) Charity Showdown comes to a close across Asia, APAC, North America, and Europe, we wanted to take this moment and thank all of our fans, players, and teams for helping us create a strong start to the 2020 PUBG Esports’ competitive calendar.



Four teams reigned supreme, with DivisionX Gaming (APAC), Tianba Gaming(ASIA), Oath Gaming (North America), and Northern Lights (Europe) taking the crown in their respective territories. In addition to their own winnings, a promised donation of $400,000 USD will be split evenly and given to each winning teams' charity of choice to aid in COVID-19 relief.

Additional donations from our amazing PUBG Esports fans will also be donated along with this. We will provide the result of donations with the upcoming announcement.

As previously announced, fans can look forward to two additional PCS tournaments held across Asia, APAC, North American, and Europe. Today, we’re happy to reveal that the names for these upcoming events are PUBG Continental Series 1 (PCS 1) and PUBG Continental Series 2 (PCS 2). For more details around the both PCS events, please find more details below.



[h3]PCS 1 and PCS 2 Overview[/h3]
PUBG Esports fans can set their dates and look forward to PCS 1 in June and PCS 2 in August. Just like the PCS Charity Showdown, PCS 1 and PCS 2 will be held across four different regions: APAC, Asia, North America, and Europe. Each of the tournaments will be conducted using with the same overall format and ruleset.

Participating Teams
Each regional event will feature a total of 16 participating teams, all of which must secure seeds through their regional qualifiers. For more detailed information around the regional qualifiers, please refer to each region’s announcement.

Tournament Operation

Fans can look forward to four days of intense competition over the course of two weeks. Each day will feature five matches across Erangel and Miramar.

Prize Money

Players will be battling it out for their share of each regional event’s $200,000 USD prize pool. The stakes will grow even higher as the Pick’Em Challenge returns. Taking the framework of the Pick’Em Challenge from last year’s PUBG Global Championship 2019 (PGC 2019), we look to offer another way to provide more loot for our participating teams and fans.




[h3]PCS 1 will take place from June 25 to July 5. [/h3]

[h3]The schedule for each of the regional events are as follows::[/h3]

The full schedule for PCS 2 will be announced at a future date.

[h3]PCS 1 Pick’Em Challenge[/h3]


Hot off last year’s success during PGC 2019, the Pick’Em Challenge returns as a revenue sharing method for our pro teams to take part in during each of the upcoming regional PCS events.

From June 17 to July 2 (KST), the PCS 1 Pick’Em Challenge will give PC fans a chance to guess which team will reign supreme at each of the regional events. We're also happy to announce that our console players will be able to participate in the Pick'Em Challenge this year from June 23 to July 2( KST).

If your pick wins, you’ll get the opportunity to take home some champion level loot. While we’ll announce specifics on how to participate at a later date, we’re excited to give you a high-level overview of the program and a sneak peek at some golden loot.

Similar to last year’s PGC 19 Pick’Em Challenge, PCS 1 will include exclusive items that will be sold in-game. The items will be revealed at a later date, but 25% of the profits will be distributed back to pro teams across the four regions. 12.5% of the profits will be added to each of the regional prize pools, while the remaining 12.5% will be distributed equally amongst the participating teams.

Finally, please see below for a concept image of the items you can obtain through the PCS 1 Pick’Em Challenge.



We’re looking forward to extending the momentum built from the success of the PCS Charity Showdown by creating unique and interesting viewing experiences for PCS 1 and PCS 2. Thanks again for making our inaugural events a success and we look forward to announcing more details around both PCS 1 and Pick’Em Challenge.

As safety measures surrounding COVID-19 continue to keep people in their homes, the #PlayApartTogether message remains just as important. To further support this industry wide initiative, we're running a PUBG Free Play Weekend on Steam!

From June 4th 17:00 UTC until June 8th 17:00 UTC, you and your friends can try out PUBG at no cost.

Even better, the game will be available for purchase at a discount of 50% off so you can continue your Battlegrounds journey and work towards the all-new ranked mode! We know these times are difficult, but keeping yourself and others safe during this pandemic is important.

[h3]We hope you enjoy your free time in PUBG and we'll see you on the Battlegrounds![/h3]

• 50% Discount will only be available during the Free Play Weekend event
  In-game purchasing will not be available until after purchasing the full game