PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is scheduled to receive its fourth monthly update this week, and the patch notes have revealed that it could be one of the biggest and best yet.
While PUBG’s weekly updates are smaller and focus more on bug fixes and optimizations, monthly updates are on a larger scale and focus on adding content. This month, one of the main additions is first person-only servers and an FOV slider for first-person mode. The option will start out on NA and EU Solo and Duo game modes, but will be expanded at a later date.
Fans have been clamoring for first person-only for a while, as it offers a more hardcore experience that doesn’t allow players to peek around corners or crawl in the grass as easily. Third person games will still be the default option, however.
PUBG is also getting a brand new gun, with the Care Package-exclusive Mk14 EBR. This beast of a gun is a designated marksman rifle that can be kitted with sniper rifle attachments, and uses 7.62 ammunition.
Also added in this patch will be the inclusion of microtransactions and a number of new customization items, including two free-to-open crates and one that can only be bought with purchased keys. The keys will cost $2.50, and proceeds will help fund the PUBG gamescom Invitational prize pool, as well as charities of developer Bluehole’s choice.
There have also been a number of small quality of life changes, such as decreasing the reload time of the VSS, the ability to reconnect to a game after you have been disconnected, and the ability to use Xbox controllers to play the game. The patch also features the addition of the ability to honk the horn when sitting in the driver seat of a vehicle, and the time to use first aid kits, painkillers, med kits, and the adrenaline syringe has been reduced.
On top of a slew of bug fixes, PUBG will receive a large number of optimizations, as the game continues to be enhanced in the lead-up to its full release later this year. This month, the client-side optimizations include improvements for memory usage for world objects, terrain rendering, vehicle physics, and the user interface.
The early access month four update will go live early Thursday morning, Aug. 3, but it will be available for testing on the PUBG test servers today.
