PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS News

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!

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[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

Dear PUBG Fans,

Back in February, we asked for your help in trying something new. At the time, Australia was just starting to recover from devastating brushfires across their country and in an effort to help them through that difficult time, we set up a fundraiser through the sale of the Australia Fire Relief - Pan skin on both PC and Console. While the world has changed a lot since then, we wanted to share the results of your generous efforts and give an update on where we’re sending that money.

First of all, we’re extremely humbled to announce that you as a community have raised a collective $588,115.52 by purchasing the pan skin. This number is after platform fees have been taken into account and the amount that was sent to the WIRES organization via Globalgiving on May 19th (PDT). 

For those curious, WIRES (Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service) is Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organization and has been caring for the wildlife of Australia for over 30 years. With the worldwide impact of COVID-19, their essential work has become even more difficult, especially in the wake of both a massive countrywide drought and the fires that killed over 1 billion animals.

Now more than ever we feel this is a worthy cause for the money you’re donated and we hope you do as well. It is truly inspiring to see the good that we can do together and we’re honored to be in a position where the sale of a small digital item and the generosity of our community can have such a big impact on the world. We’ll be looking at additional causes we can support in the future, but for now you have our deepest and most humbled thanks for helping with this campaign.

For more information on WIRES, you can visit https://www.wires.org.au/. Be sure to also drop by and send a thank you note (or just a follow) to community artist @swatercolour for donating the art used on the pan skin.

Thank you once again,

--The PUBG Team