PUBG - Dev Letter - Improving Crate Content

Posted: 14 Nov 2019 08:52 PM PST

As PUBG grows and develops as a game, it's important that we also take a look at the older systems that our fans interact with. One such system that we've been looking at for a while now is the current crate system. Since PUBG's early days, crates have been distributed directly or randomly through the BP system, with some then requiring a key purchase to open.

Today we're going to talk about some changes we're making to the crate system and how this content will be delivered going forward. First of all, let's go over the changes.

Upcoming Crate System Changes

Random Crates purchased with BP will no longer contain crates that require a key to open.
- Locked Crates from Random purchases will no longer be available starting Dec. 18th.
Crates already in your inventory or acquired via the marketplace can still be opened with the appropriate key, which can still be purchased from the store and can still be purchased or sold on the marketplace.
The new Crate will retain the trade value of the highest tier item; the probability for each tier has been adjusted overall to increase the likelihood of acquiring a weapon of an attractive design.

Why change the system?
Through player feedback, we've found that more often players do not get enjoyment out of opening crates as they currently exist. We looked at the following information:

The value of marketable loot box in PUBG is solely determined by the users and getting items through the marketplace or selling them back is also part of the PUBG experience. However, the value of the locked crates are very low among other PUBG items. This means that paid crates are not an appealing reward to players, making the experience of acquiring a locked crate less enjoyable.

Patches have been carried out to continuously lower the probability of obtaining locked crates when purchasing a random one and items with special features have been added to locked crates to give them additional value for those who wish to purchase them, but we've learned that this issue cannot be completely resolved in this manner. Because of this, we've decided to discontinue the release of new locked crates and phase out the distribution of existing locked crates as well.

We have been thinking about this carefully and we want to ensure that we steer clear of revenue models that fail to satisfy fans, especially if they include a low success rate. We will continue to tweak our business model where possible to offer more compelling value for the money you choose to spend with us.

Details of the changes for new BP Crates

More preferred skins now appear in lower tiers and AR category skins are evenly distributed from top to bottom tiers.
The overall graphic quality of crate skins have been enhanced to ensure that the quality is adequate when compared to the paid weapons.
The quality of the items in the middle tiers of crates was improved and the likelihood of obtaining them was increased by about 20%.
The probability of obtaining the top tier items was increased as well but they will still remain difficult to obtain in order to not impact the market value of the skins or crates.

Schedule
11/20

A new crate, the VENETIAN CRATE, will be released and will be directly purchasable with BP. It and all future crates will be unlocked.

11/27

The direct sale of VENETIAN CRATE will be discontinued, making it only available through random purchase.
The probability of obtaining locked crates through random purchase will be notably decreased.

12/18

Locked crates will no longer drop from random crate purchases. They can still be purchased via the marketplace.
Keys may still be purchased, but only if you have a locked crate in your inventory.

Considerations
The Steam marketplace is a component that many PUBG players enjoy, and we are certainly not trying to get rid of it with these changes. New items from future crates will continue to be able to be sold on the marketplace, and no locked crates means one less step a player interested in those items will have to go through.

What's in the VENETIAN CRATE

We know players have been asking for changes to the crate system for quite some time and hope that these changes prove our commitment to keeping purchases in PUBG a fun and rewarding experience. Whether you play without additional spend, purchase the seasonal Survivor Passes, pick up cool skins on the Store, or open and sell crates on the Marketplace, we want your interaction with PUBG to be worth your time and money. As always, please let us know if you have any feedback on this new system and we'll see you on the Battlegrounds!

– Sujin Kim from PUBG Item Production Dev Team