PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS News

PUBG's new Arena Mode offers players some first-person tournament action

September 18 Arena Mode has been temporarily disabled during the first PC trial due to "a critical issue impacting game stability".

You'd be forgiven for not having heard of PUBG Labs. It's a section of the menu that occasionally pops up to feature more experimental game modes or things that PUBG Corp just wants to try out. You'll find Labs in the main game, not the test server, with its own UI just above the play button.

This time around PUBG Labs is trialing a 64-player tactical arena shooter imaginatively called Arena Mode, starting from September 17, 00:00 PDT (03:00 EDT/08:00 BST) for PC players. You and your team will be dropped into small sections of Erangel, Miramar, and Sanhok to fight it out in first-person perspective with just two opposing teams. Win, and you'll gain an advantage in your next fight. Lose, and you've got two more tries or you're out.

When just three teams remain, you'll battle it out in sudden death with one life and one winner. However, the biggest difference is that loot won't be spawning on the ground. You'll earn currency in your matches, which you can spend equipping yourself and your team with the best loadout for the terrain you're in. It definitely sounds different to PUBG ranked, so it could be a welcome change of pace.

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PUBG Labs: Arena mode

We're thrilled to see so many of you enjoying the new Arena Mode! Based on your response, we have decided to expand Arena Mode's schedule to allow more time for playing and testing it out.

Arena Mode is now available non-stop until October 8.

With this extension, we hope you all really dive in and get a good feel for it. We're looking forward to your feedback! Thank you and we hope you enjoy the Arena!

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Hello Battlegrounds Enthusiasts,

This week we’re bringing you something new that combines intense PUBG gunplay with the tactics of an arena shooter. We call this LABS experiment Arena Mode.

Arena Mode is a 64 person, squad-based match that drops you into one of several sectioned-off zones on Erangel, Miramar, or Sanhok. You’ll fight it out with up to two other squads to claim victory in your arena. Should you lose, your team will lose one of its 3 chances, which eliminates you once they’re gone. Claim victory, and move onto the next round with a stronger position than those who failed. When 3 or fewer squads remain, they’ll enter a Sudden Death arena where the winner takes all, regardless of how many chances you have left.

Arena mode has some other differences from a normal match as well. The biggest of which is that weapons do not spawn in the world. Instead, you will need to use currency that you earn by eliminating other players to purchase your arsenal through the Loadout menu (PC: L key, Console: Map key(System menu/Touch pad) by default). Knocked allies can also be revived in 5 seconds, which is important for maintaining your advantage in such small, intense fights.

Surviving the Arena means teamwork and smart tactical decisions. From matching your loadout to the terrain you’re in, to watching each other’s backs until you’ve got eyes on your enemies, to coordinating your attack, Arena Mode is sure to test your teamwork and communication skills.

Here’s a quick breakdown of all the rules:
[h2]Rules[/h2]

In each round, 2-3 squads will dive into a random, sectioned-off area.
Each squad starts with 3 chances and will be eliminated once those chances are lost.
When 3 or fewer squads remain, they are placed into a sudden death round where the winner takes the chicken, regardless of how many chances each squad has left.
There are no world spawn weapons. You will earn points during each round that can be used to purchase weapons from the Loadout menu (PC: L key, Console: Map key(System menu/Touch pad)).
Other items, such as attachments, helmets and vests, still spawn across the map.

[h2]Game Settings[/h2]

64 players (16 squads)
Erangel, Miramar, and Sanhok
Squadmate revival time: 5 seconds
Adjusted bluezone speed for more intense gameplay
Your team will have 30 seconds to loot upon winning your Arena
Observer Mode Enabled once your team has won an arena or been killed

Arena Mode will be available in LABS over 2 weeks, so make sure to grab your squad and drop in while it’s available.

PC & Console

September 24 (14:00 KST) ~ October 8 (16:00 KST)

As always, your feedback here is important and will help shape the mode should we decide to continue development on it.

We’ll see you in the Arena!

Team Liquid's new facility is a show of faith in its European players

Over the years, Utrecht has oozed with sporting talent. The Netherlands' fourth-largest city has produced footballing icons like Marco van Basten and Wesley Sneijder, or Olympic athletes like sprinter Dafne Schippers. But it's not just traditional sports Utrecht is famous for - it's also the birthplace of Team Liquid, one of the most iconic organisations in esports.

Earlier today, Team Liquid officially cut the ribbon to its second state-of-the-art esports facility. After opening the doors of its California space in 2018, the new Alienware Training Facility in the centre of Utrecht brings all the shiny toys over for the European teams to have a go - as well as seeing Liquid invest in the city where it was first dreamt up.

From Liquid's Dota 2 team to its fresh new Valorant roster, this will be the base for a number of its esports teams to not only train, but in some cases live. The 10,000 sq ft facility is not only packed to the rafters with top-spec gaming equipment, but with all the health and wellbeing features that the world's biggest organisations are beginning to invest in heavily.

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Here's PUBG reimagined as a "cinematic survival game"

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is one of the best battle royale games around, packed with players chasing down 99 others in pursuit of those ever-elusive chicken dinners. But, one PUBG fan's reimagined it as something else entirely, with a new "concept video" that puts it in a whole other genre: a "cinematic survival game".

Content creator Myles_AwayTwitch has posted a ten-minute clip in the multiplayer game's subreddit, which we've included below, explaining: "I made a concept video of PUBG as a cinematic survival game". As you can see, it starts off the same as all PUBG matches: in a plane, with the player dropping down to the enormous map below. But, once on the ground, the game takes a different turn altogether, the player character more pre-occupied with sneaking past foes, getting themselves safe and properly equipped at a nearby camp, and venturing into the wilderness to survive.

The creator makes use of some nifty, alternative perspective cinematic shots to enhance the survival game feel of the footage, and it does bring a Resident Evil-like quality to PUBG.

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Update 8.3 - Now Live

The final update of season 8 is here and brings a brand new tool to help you catch up to the playzone, a new mode of transportation to avoid those heavily camped bridges, some UI adjustments and more!

Take a little extra time in the Blue Zone with the new Jammer Pack! This new pack has the capacity of a level 2 bag and interrupts Blue Zone damage while its battery lasts, letting you catch up to the play zone or utilize the blue zone for a tactical advantage. The Jammer Pack drops on Sanhok and Karakin starting this update!

Treading the chilled waters of Erangel are new Ferries delivering players to and from Sosnovka Island. Four Ferries travel back and forth between two different destinations, giving you some alternatives to crashing through bridge blockades, finding a boat, or swimming it. Add to that a new Assist indication in the UI, two new Team Deathmatch stages on Sanhok, indicators when your teammates enter combat, and more.

The M416 has also received an additional sound adjustment, you can the context related to this change in the patch notes. We hope these new changes are more to your liking, and will be monitoring your feedback.

Add to that a new Assist indication in the UI, two new Team Deathmatch stages on Sanhok, indicators when your teammates enter combat, and more.

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Learn all the details in the patch notes or drop in and check them out yourself!