PUBG: Battlegrounds, the battle royale shooter that resulted in a massive explosion for the genre, has finally gone free-to-play. This means that Xbox and PlayStation owners no longer need Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus to play online.
Of course, not everything is available free of charge. All players start with a Basic account and can upgrade to Battlegrounds Plus for $12.99. This provides access to Ranked mode along with the ability to create custom matches, access the Career medal tab and receive a 100 percent boost to Survival Mastery XP. You’ll also receive a Plus Transition Commemorative Hat, Bandana and Gloves along with 1,300 G-Coin.
According to the developer (via VGC), locking ranked behind a paywall is “partly aimed at giving additional benefits to those upgrading to Battlegrounds Plus, but the ultimate reason for restricting the use of some major content is to prevent cheaters. In the case of Ranked Mode, fair play is required the most as it is a fierce competition of players competing over Rank Points (RP). If anyone can play in a Ranked match without any restrictions, there are concerns about the possibility of an increase in potential cheaters as well as the possibility of banned players returning to the game easily.
“In addition, in order to prevent actions such as promoting unauthorized programs through creating custom matches, some contents are only available through Battlegrounds Plus. Anti-cheat is more important than ever as PUBG Battlegrounds is now free-to-play.”
It’s worth noting that anyone who purchased the game before it went free-to-play will automatically be upgraded to Battlegrounds Plus. They’ll even receive the “Battle-hardened Legacy” outfit bundle consisting of a corset, jacket, pants, boots and gloves. Stay tuned for more details on how effective the shift to free-to-play will be in the coming months.