PUBG claws its way back to 1 million concurrent players on Steam

Back in February, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds began to fall from grace, unable to maintain its consistent 1 million concurrent player base on Steam. It looks like PUBG has since been given a second chance, passing the barrier once again with 1.08 million players at the time of writing.

PUBG capped off 2017 on a high, reaching the previously untouched heights of 3 million concurrent players on Steam. Since then, the game has continually struggled to maintain above 1 million concurrent players, peaking once again during October before hitting a new low of 895,650 peak concurrent players last month.

Renewed interest has been attributed to PUBG Corp’s determined updates ushering in Vikendi, a new snow-clad map that offers a contrasted terrain and palette then the grassy Erangel, desert plains of Miramar and the tropical Sanhok. Alongside a new map to explore, PUBG players have also been treated to a slew of improvements and bug fixes over the past couple of months that are explained to change how the game plays.

Firstly comes the new parachute system, handing controls over to the player. Now, players are able to dive and glide while heading to their destination, going as far to cut their parachute before landing. This is a small tweak that enables player to more precisely coordinate themselves.

Second is the Survivor Pass, which rewards players for jumping into Vikendi. This is offered to players for free, which has proven popular, however a paid Premium Pass for £7.49 grants access to “more missions, faster leveling, and exclusive rewards.”

Much of PUBG’s downfall is believed to be at the hands of rival Fortnite: Battle Royale, which continues to achieve staggering heights. Still, PUBG’s console and mobile presence, which isn’t accounted for here, is proving to withstand the competition a little better and the Steam version maintains its position at the top of the concurrent player chart.

KitGuru Says: It’s always sad to see a popular game lose Steam, particularly after following its rise to prominence. Have you gone back to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds since the introduction of Vikendi or do you think the game’s time has already passed?

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