PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS Guide#
Game Overview#
PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS is the tactical battle royale shooter from PUBG Studios and Krafton. Up to 100 players parachute onto the same island in a single match, scavenge weapons, armor and supplies on the ground, and fight to survive inside a playzone that keeps shrinking, until one player or team is left standing. The game entered Early Access on PC on March 23, 2017, launched its 1.0 release in December 2017, and switched from paid purchase to free-to-play in December 2019. It currently runs on PC and all major consoles, with PUBG Mobile as its mobile counterpart.
Key Information#
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Genre | Tactical battle royale shooter |
| Developer / Publisher | Krafton (credited as PUBG Studios early on, now unified under Krafton) |
| Early Access | March 23, 2017 (PC) |
| Full release (1.0) | December 2017 |
| Price | Free-to-play (since December 2019) |
| Platforms | PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, mobile (PUBG Mobile) |
| Players per match | Up to 100 |
| Official maps | 9 |
The Core Match Loop#
A standard match runs on the rhythm below. Every map and every mode is built around this loop, and understanding it matters more than memorizing any single trick:
| Phase | What you do |
|---|---|
| Drop | Pick a landing spot along the flight path: hot zones pack loot but can mean a fight the second you touch down, remote zones are safer to loot but force you to plan the next rotation |
| Loot | Gather weapons, armor, ammunition and healing items on the ground and get combat-ready fast |
| Rotate | The playzone shrinks on a cycle and anyone outside it bleeds continuously, so read the next circle and move early |
| Endgame | As usable space closes in, engagements get more frequent until the last player or team wins |
Two things about the live game that new players should know up front: normal matchmaking can include AI bots to fill empty slots, and Ranked punishes early deaths harder, so it rewards a more survival-focused approach than casual play.
Modes at a Glance#
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Solo / Duo / Squad | Core team formats: solo, duo and four-player squads, with Squad the most popular and the standard format for esports |
| Ranked | Duo and Squad focused, matchmade by tier, with a map pool that updates per season |
| Team Deathmatch / Arcade | Fast-respawn shooting modes, good for warming up your aim and learning engagement tempo |
| Rumble | A competitive entry point with no ranked pressure |
| Xenopoint | A cooperative loot-driven roguelite mode |
| Payday | A cooperative heist mode built with Starbreeze |
| PUBG: Playgrounds | A UGC platform built with Overwolf/CurseForge, launched in August 2026, hosting community-made modes |
Matchmaking rules and crossplay details for each mode are covered in the multiplayer sub-guide.
The 9 Official Maps#
The PC and console version of PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS ships nine official maps, sized and described below:
| Map | Size | Terrain |
|---|---|---|
| Erangel | 8×8 km | Plains, forests and towns — the classic map |
| Miramar | 8×8 km | Desert and canyons, built for long-range duels |
| Taego | 8×8 km | Forest and grassland, with the Comeback revival mechanic |
| Rondo | 8×8 km | A newer large map mixing urban and rural terrain |
| Deston | 8×8 km | High-density vertical city |
| Vikendi | 8×8 km | Snow, low visibility, with a cable car |
| Sanhok | 4×4 km | Dense jungle, small and fast-paced |
| Paramo | 3×3 km | A lava volcanic island with no vehicles and dynamically reshaping terrain |
| Karakin | 2×2 km | The smallest map, with destructible walls and an extremely fast pace |
A few corrections to the mistakes older online sources keep repeating: Vikendi is 8×8 km, not 6×6 km; Paramo is 3×3 km, not 2×2 km; Livik belongs to PUBG Mobile and is not a PC/console official map; Haven existed historically but is not part of the current nine-map set. Normal matchmaking rotates weekly on a “one fixed map + two rotating maps” pool, so which maps you actually get that week is determined by the in-game rotation screen and the official rotation schedule — see the map sub-guide for details.
Weapons and Gear: How We Write About Them#
The arsenal is split across assault rifles, SMGs, sniper rifles, shotguns, LMGs and pistols, and attachments change magazine size, recoil control, optics and bullet velocity. Close-range burst damage leans on hip fire and shotguns, while long-range duels come down to scope magnification and bullet velocity.
To be explicit: this site does not publish unverified weapon damage numbers. Qualitative coverage of each weapon’s role and the attachment system lives in the weapons sub-guide; for exact values, use in-game data and official channels.
Crossplay and Accounts#
- PC: Steam and Epic Games Store players can play together.
- Console: PlayStation and Xbox support crossplay, enabled by default.
- PC and console cannot play together; matchmaking pools are separated by input device family — Krafton’s trade-off to balance mouse precision against controller aim assist.
- Linking a Krafton account lets progression and purchased cosmetics carry across platforms.
Section Navigation#
- Beginner Guide — drop spot selection, loot priority and playzone basics
- Map Guide — size, terrain and weekly rotation for all nine official maps
- Weapons Guide — qualitative coverage of weapon classes and the attachment system (no unverified numbers)
- Multiplayer — team modes, ranked rules and crossplay
- Endgame Tactics — final circle objectives, positioning principles and team roles
- Stats — how to read performance metrics and an honest note on this site’s data scope
- Updates — verified patch timing and official information channels
- FAQ — free-to-play status, platforms, crossplay, map count and other frequent questions
- Controls — keybinds and settings
- Combat — firefights and gunfights
Related Games#
- Battlefield 6 — large-scale multiplayer shooter with big maps and vehicle combat
- Delta Force — tactical squad-based shooter with extraction-style operations
- Arc Raiders — co-op PvPvE extraction shooter built around risk and loot
- Destiny 2 — looter shooter with deep PvP and weapon build crafting
Related Rankings#
Best Shooter Games · Best Co-Op Games · Best Open-World Games
Full Guides#
In-depth sub-guides — beginner basics, map rotation, weapons and attachments, multiplayer and crossplay, endgame tactics, stats reading, verified update timeline, FAQ, combat techniques, controls and settings, tips, achievements, challenges and missions, characters, gallery, lore, resources, secrets and easter eggs, skills, and walkthrough — are available in Chinese on NTGame’s PUBG section.