November 13 Is Going to Be the End of an Era for PUBG

PUBG: Battlegrounds is ending support for last-generation consoles on November 13. That date will hence mark the end of an era which has been running for nearly as long as PUBG: Battlegrounds itself.

The hit battle royale game was originally released as a PC exclusive in December 2017. The mobile version of PUBG debuted in March of the following year, with the game then reaching the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in September and December 2018, respectively.

PUBG Ending PS4 and Xbox One Support as a ‘Necessary Step’

PUBG developer PUBG Studios today announced that the shooter’s last-generation console ports are being sunset this fall. Support for the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game will end on November 13. From that date onward, console gamers wanting to continue playing PUBG will need either the PS5 or the Xbox Series X/S. In a prepared statement, PUBG Studios characterized the newly announced move as “a necessary step toward aligning PUBG Console with current-gen consoles.”

Ending support for Sony and Microsoft’s last-gen consoles will help PUBG Studios maintain and even elevate the game’s technical performance on the current-gen hardware, as it will no longer have to dedicate resources to making sure PUBG runs on 12-year-old systems. For reference, the game was always locked to 30 frames per second on the PS4 and Xbox One, which is less than ideal for a competitive shooter. The arrival of the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 allowed PUBG to run at 60fps on consoles for the first time in 2020.

PUBG Console Players Should Soon Experience Fewer Crashes

The developer anticipates that the end of last-gen console support will reduce instances of PUBG crashes on the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S thanks to some additional “memory-related optimizations” that will go into effect. Overall console visuals, including frame rate stability, are also set to improve, though details on this change are currently slim. PUBG Studios did outline new console performance specs that will apply following the shift, most of which remain unchanged. The one exception is the Xbox Series S, which will receive a new performance mode capped at 30fps and 1440p. Currently, the console supports 1080p at 60fps, a configuration competitive players are still likely to prefer.

PUBG: Battlegrounds Resolution and Frame Rate Specs Following Current-Gen Console Transition

The November 13 change will see PUBG delisted from the PS4 and Xbox One’s digital storefronts. Even fans who still have it downloaded on that date will no longer be able to play it on the old consoles. PlayStation users will need to redownload the entire game on November 13, even if they are already playing on the PS5. Conversely, the Xbox version will be rolled out using Microsoft’s Smart Delivery technology, so no further action will be required on the part of Xbox Series X/S owners. Apart from improving console performance, the end of support for the PS5 and Xbox One should facilitate “larger updates in the future” that wouldn’t have been possible on the old hardware, PUBG Studios said.

PUBG: Battlegrounds

Released

March 23, 2017

ESRB

T for Teen: Blood, Violence

Engine

Unreal Engine 4