PUBG ranks top on Steam following F2P transition

PUBG: Battlegrounds was the top-ranked game on Steam during its transition to free-to-play on January 12 according to Krafton. 

Following its change in status earlier this month, the game reached more than 690,000 total active players dropping into the battlegrounds, showing similar growth rates to when the game was first released in 2017. 

In the week following the F2P transition, the game saw a 486% increase in new players, outpacing its 2017 player growth rate. Furthermore, new user growth increased at a higher rate percentage (537%) in specific territories, such as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Southeast Asia and South America. 

Additionally, the game has seen significant increases in average playtime when compared to the week prior to F2P, with average playtime on PC and consoles increased by 100% week-over-week while PlayStation players recorded a 400% increase in playtime.

Players have gravitated towards the new tutorials, which include the Basic Training Mode, AI Training Matches and Lobby Tutorials, making it the most-played content during this transition based on internal data. 

Additionally, the recently released Taego battleground and the fan-favourite Erangel battleground have been the most played maps since January 12. 

To date, the game has sold more than 75 million copies across PC and consoles, making it one of the best-selling games of all time. In the nearly five years since its release, PUBG: Battlegrounds has continued to expand with consistent in-game updates, including new maps, game modes and gameplay features.