Is PUBG worth playing in 2024?

There are so many different battle royale titles, but only a few managed to truly stick with the needs of the genre’s ever-growing fanbase—including one of the founding titles of the scene, PUBG. Some players are wondering if the seven-year old title is still worth trying out in 2024.

PUBG is not only one of the biggest battle royale games in the history of the genre, but is still one of the most-played titles on Steam around the world to date. It’s popularity might have fallen a bit since its original release date, but the game is still popping off in various parts of the world with a highly-dedicated player base.

Since 2017, PUBG helped revolutionize the battle royale scene with in-depth gameplay mechanics, deep strategies for positioning, rotations, and gunfights, and its decent graphics across a set of massive maps. Without PUBG, we might not have seen other titles take off, such as Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Call of Duty: Warzone.

Today, however, veteran battle royale enthusiasts and newcomers alike are wondering whether it is worth stepping foot into a few games of PUBG, even for old time’s sake.

Should you play PUBG in 2024?

In terms of gameplay, PUBG remains as one of the tougher battle royales on the market, boasting gunfights that require great precision, smart rotations and positioning, and knowledge of the map and your opponents.

Experienced players will absolutely roast new players in the first several matches that they play, but like any battle royale, your skill will increase as you keep learning the weapons, the maps, and the tendencies of your opponents. Once you’ve started to get a hang of the action, PUBG is one of the most satisfying games to play when finally collecting a win.

That classic “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner” victory screen is a plus, but it is the intense feeling of the circle closing in on the final squads that leads to one of the biggest dopamine hits in video games. There is nothing like hitting a perfect shot with the KAR-98 to finish off a match, or dodging around and clutching up against multiple players for the dub.

Although there are plenty of other options that might entice you, PUBG is still an option you can keep on the roster moving forward. Not only does the game still have a massive player base, but it is still getting huge updates that will keep the game fresh from this moment onward.

At the beginning of 2024, the developers promised they will be communicating with Western audiences at a more consistent rate, while also bringing a new game engine, fun game modes, and even user-generated content in upcoming patches.

There have also been various collabs with other games, like Dead by Daylight and Assassin’s Creed, along with collabs with world-renowned K-pop group NewJeans. Overall, PUBG might not be as flashy as other possible choices, but it is still one of the best and most challenging battle royale titles on the market—and best of all, it’s free-to-play.