Hello players!
First of all, a very happy 5th Anniversary to you all! We're both excited and humbled to ring in this milestone, even though we can hardly believe it has been that long already! Through the years, you all have stood with us as a constant reminder of how fortunate we have been in our successes but also a humbling reminder that there is always work to do. Many companies say it, but we hope you believe us when we say we're truly in this together. Your joys, triumphs, milestones, and of course, your feedback, are revered throughout our studios and fuel us to keep moving forward. Sometimes we hit it out of the park and share in your celebrations. Sometimes we stumble and have to adjust and reassess our plans. Ours is a partnership we feel truly grateful to have and we'll continue to take in your feedback, adjust, and improve as we take on the next 5 years together.
For today, we want to celebrate the past but more importantly look to the future with our 2022 Roadmap. Of course, we have to state that everything we're sharing today along with any mentioned timelines are all subject to change. Game development can be a finicky thing and priorities can change based on issues that arise and feedback. In addition, know that what we're sharing today isn't everything. Some content in development is still in too early of a stage to share but we've tried to find some exciting features to talk about for each quarter of the year.
All that said, let's dive into the 2022 PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS Roadmap!
Quarter 2 (April - June)
Sanhok Rollback
Sanhok is one of the areas you've been pretty vocal about. We've attempted a few changes in an effort to modernize Sanhok, but at the end of the day, many of you still preferred the original map. We've heard your feedback and are doing the following for Sanhok:
- Sanhok will come back in its original form
- Sanhok is our oldest small map and is still enjoyed by many players
- Due to its age, it has seen a number of added features and a major revamp
- Some players like the revamped version but most players want the original Sanhok back
- We've given lots of thought to the long-standing requests and made the decision to revert the map
- The reverted version is in the last stage of stabilization and will be revealed in the near future
- With the rollback, many of the added features will be removed but we are deliberating on how we'll move forward with Sanhok's original form
New Weapon: 7.62mm Assault Rifle (AR)
Assault Rifles (AR) either use the 5.56mm or 7.62mm, but there seems to be a smaller pool of 7.62mm ARs that can use the full-auto firing mode. Therefore, one of our goals for Q2 is to add an additional 7.62mm AR to the mix.
- For weapon variety, we are developing a new 7.62mm weapon
- 7.62mm weapons have high DPS but are more difficult to control
- The new 7.62mm weapon in development has a comparably lower DPS but is easier to control, positioned between the Beryl (high damage, difficult to control) and AKM (low damage, easier to control)
Training Mode Improvement
Training Mode has seen few major changes since its inception. With so many new players joining the game since Free-to-Play, we thought now was a good time to focus on more practical training areas.
- Since the beginning of this year, we've been working to improve Training Mode
- In the current Training Mode, players can train their skills with weapons and vehicles.
- With Free-to-Play, more practical training programs are required.
- Players will be able to practice PvP combat there
- Adding Aim/Sound Training Room in the last update was part of the effort
- 1vs1 training ground will be added where players can fight one-on-one
- QoL updates are also in the pipeline:
- Fast travel within the training grounds
- Custom match training mode that allows players to train with friends
Paramo World Sub-update
In PUBG, terrain can be just as important as the right loadout and good aim. We're constantly looking at maps to make sure they are tactically fair and fun. Paramo especially has some overly advantageous areas that we want to look at for balance adjustments.
- There are some overly advantageous areas in the world, which will be adjusted for balance
- We constantly improve terrain balance of the Battlegrounds by making adjustments
- We want to make sure there is distinct gameplay on each map
- The Paramo sub-update is scheduled for Q2.
- Sub-updates for existing maps such as Miramar and Taego will follow as well.
QoL Improvement
We're always looking at little ways we can make a big difference in your quality of life as you play. While some systems are intentionally meant to be more difficult, there are definitely places we can improve.
- PUBG has inconvenient elements by nature as a realistic Battle Royale rule, such as being unable to use heal and boost items in a vehicle's driver seat or having to guess the perfect timing of a cooked grenade.
- Therefore, we want to find places we can reduce inconvenience without affecting core gameplay through systems such as the UI by providing the info players had to learn from experience.
Quarter 3 (July – September)
New Map: Kiki
Kiki is quite unique in its diversity, featuring not only crowded cities full of near-future buildings, but vast grasslands, dense swamps, and more. We're pretty excited about this one and are looking forward to getting it out to you soon. Here's a bit more on Kiki:We've been talking about Kiki since the 2021 Dev Plan and know many of you have been excited to learn more and eventually get your hands on it. We're happy to announce that Kiki's development is coming along well and we plan on debuting the new 8×8 map in Q3 of this year.
Look and FeelKiki is a near-future city that has been ravaged by the elements. Dangerous storms, powerful floods, and of course the tolls of time, have all contributed to the downfall of this once thriving city. Built upon a tamed frontier, the lands around
Kiki still very much belong to nature with a blend of rocky highlands, floral planes, and dense swamps with bits of 21st century civilization dotted throughout. It is a Battleground unlike anything we've built before and we're excited to see
Kiki inhabited once again.
Unique TraitsKiki's city has the most verticality we've ever built into Battleground and are filled with interesting sniper-nest style points of interest, rooftops loaded with emergency parachutes, and buildings easily scaled with the new Ascenders. This isn't to say that the entire city can be explored. Taking lessons from Haven, not every building is fully playable, with single floors, or sometimes just single chambers, open for gameplay and highlighted so that players on the ground can easily learn where snipers can fight from.
Out in nature, our new swamplands are completely unique to Kiki, with ankle deep water, and dense cover to allow for compelling cat and mouse gameplay without having to swim everywhere. We're also looking to add an Airboat to better navigate across both land and sea. For those hoping for a more traditional PUBG gameplay, Kiki will also have plenty of fielded area for those iconic battles that players enjoyed in Erangel and Miramar.
Exclusive features/contentAirboat: A vehicle that specializes in land and sea traversal. Its amazing utility is balanced out by less than ideal cover for passengers.
Ascenders: While at special areas on the map, players can use the Ascender to quicky ascend or descend great distances.
Additional Features: After releasing Kiki, we will continue to add content exclusive to the map such as new weapons and vehicles
Weapon Mastery Overhaul
The PUBG Mastery systems were introduced as progression content to keep things challenging and interesting for players, but we've noticed the current systems needed some improvements for a while now as many players were reaching max levels. Therefore, our dev team will work on creating a stronger progression system by first starting with a Weapon Mastery overhaul.
- Increasing Weapon Mastery max level to challenge players
- Having players show off their achievements through Weapon Nameplates and additional rewards once players reach a certain Mastery level
- Considering various ways to provide more meaningful stats/records to make progressing a more rewarding experience
- Refer to the previous "Weapon Mastery Overhaul" announcement for more info.
- As stated there, we welcome your feedback and ideas on this system! Please let us know what you'd like to see from the Mastery system.
Quarter 4 (October – December)
Vikendi – Reborn
Being one of the more visually unique Battlegrounds, Vikendi still has room for additional implementation of new features and areas for more core gameplay moments. Therefore, we're planning a grand remake towards the end of the year.
Although Vikendi provides unique visuals, it has room for improvement and new features in terms of core gameplay. Being well aware of that, we decided to remake Vikendi.
Arcade Mode Overhaul
We haven't done much with Arcade Mode since adding TDM, so we want to overhaul Arcade Mode to add new game types and rewards for playing them.
- No new mode has been added to Arcade Mode since TDM
- Developing content simultaneously and running LABS to test modes and features have taken our attention away from Arcade mode
- In the second half of the year, we plan to overhaul Arcade Mode to add more game types and a new reward system for players who enjoy playing Arcade.
As stated above, this is not an all-inclusive list. We've got a variety of different types of content constantly in the works that we're just not ready to talk about yet.
One last reminder that everything we talk about is subject to change, whether it's as little as a different name for a system to completely scrapping some features that turn out to be different than we've envisioned.
We're excited about everything coming in the remainder of 2022 and have plenty more planned for beyond. For now, join in on all the 5th Anniversary festivities. Grab some cool rewards, and as always keep an eye on our official channels for info on when these awesome new features will be ready for you to jump into.
Thank you for all the love and support you've given throughout the years.
PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS Team
