KRAFTON has stated that the PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS player base has grown by 486% since it becomes free-to-play earlier this month. KRFATON, the game’s creator and publisher, announced at The Game Awards in 2021 that PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS would go free-to-play. But PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS is the only well-known battle royale game that hasn’t gone free-to-play.
Despite the game’s dominance in the market, some speculate that its makers made it free to play to increase the game’s user base and ensure the game’s long-term success. A week after PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS became a free-to-play game on all platforms, KRAFTON reported a 486 per cent rise in player growth, as well as a 537 per cent increase in new players in many locations. Also reported was an increase in playing across all platforms, including PC, where Steam reports over 700,000 active gamers in the week leading up to the switch.
From now until February 17, players that log in and play for at least an hour in the breakthrough battle royale between January 27 and January 30 will be eligible for free special in-game awards and Orbital Vanguard skins as a way to celebrate the progress.
PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS has grown tremendously since it went free-to-play, but a few months after the game went free-to-play, users started review-bombing and demanding refunds. Battle Royale was born with PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, and it was the only game of its kind to be offered for a price of $29.99, despite the fact that other games in the genre were all free. Amidst criticism, it appears to have worked as the popular battle royale game is now bigger than ever before.