Fortnite
may be the topic du jour, but the game that inspired its Battle Royale mode, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, remains one of the most popular games on the planet as well. In fact, PUBG has a chance to tip the scales back in its favor in the coming weeks, as the game’s third map is about to begin rolling out to players.
Brendan Greene, the titular PlayerUnknown, announced the new island map during a panel at GDC 2018 last month, explaining that its smaller size will make for faster and more intense battles among players. Both of PUBG’s previous two maps, Erangel and Miramar, measured in at 8km x 8km, but Codename: Savage (which is the new map’s name for now) will only be 4km x 4km. You’ll run into other players a lot more frequently on the new map.
The reveal of the new map was an exciting surprise, but even more exciting was the revelation that the map would be available far sooner in the development process than the second map was. Greene and the PUBG team want players to get their hands on the map as soon as possible so they can provide feedback while the map is still in development. That way, the final product will be more in line with what the game’s fans actually want to see.
ICYMI at my @Official_GDC talk, here's an early WIP preview of our 4x4km map, coming soon to the new @PUBATTLEGROUNDS Experimental Test Servers!#ThisIsBattleRoyale pic.twitter.com/JGRv57A7ST
— PLAYERUNKNOWN (@PLAYERUNKNOWN) March 23, 2018
And a lucky few players aren’t going to have to wait much longer at all, as sign-ups for the beta have already gone live over on the PUBG website. As long as you have a copy of the game on PC, you can click the “Authenticate with Steam” at the link above and you’ll have a chance to get a key to test the new map.
The experimental server containing Codename: Savage goes live at 7 PM PT / 10 PM ET on Monday night, and the first test will wrap up on April 5 at 4 AM PT / 7 AM ET. If you own the game, you might as well give it a go.
