How many players are playing PUBG: Battlegrounds after it went free-to-play

PUBG Battlegrounds' decision to go free-to-play looks like a game-changer for the Battle Royale game as it has given the title a fresh lease of life.

The 2016 release was why Battle Royale became a household name in the gaming community. By bringing the science-fiction concept to the virtual world, the game was able to gather the fans' interest in massive numbers.

However, a portion of the player base took a hit with time. There have been other competing releases in the genre, like Apex Legends and Call of Duty Warzone Pacific. While all the games have different settings, PUBG Battlegrounds was not free-to-play, unlike the others.

At The Game Awards in 2021, PUBG corporation and Krafton declared that the game would be going free-to-play across all platforms starting in 2022. In doing so, the game is available for free on PCs and consoles.

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PUBG Battlegrounds sees a sharp rise in active players

PUBG Battlegrounds became free-to-play starting January 12 as scheduled. In doing so, the game became completely free to all new and existing players. All the different modes and maps are available to all the players.

There are still microtransactions within the game, but they're all related to customizations. These items have no direct impact on gameplay, but some rarer items can be costly to acquire. But with the full game now available without any restrictions, it's still a great deal.

Naturally, as soon as the game became free-to-play, there was a lot of hype. Some felt that the game wouldn't be able to gain similar numbers as many players had left previously. The reason for doing so was down to the fact that the game had other issues related to hackers and overall game decisions.

But the numbers are out, and they've not only increased but are substantial numbers as well. At the time of writing, around 343,000 people are playing the game on Steam. It peaked at almost 700,000 players, numbers seen for the first time in the last three years.

Early indications suggest that KRAFTON and PUBG Corporation's decision has been fruitful. But with new players come problems in other areas, mainly on the quality side.

Complaints against the game are not new, and some have been persistent. Unless the problems are rectified, several new players will leave the game after a few days.