‘PUBG’ 1.0 And Xbox One Release Coming After Testing Vaulting And New Features For Two To Four Weeks

Bluehole shared details on Monday about how the developer plans to handle the official 1.0 release of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on PC and the launch of the game on Xbox One. The end of 2017 is quickly closing in, but it looks the multiplayer shooter will make it out under the wire, and the new desert map could be included.

The developers behind PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) are currently developing the final build for the 1.0 release on PC and the launch into the Xbox One Game Preview program. First, the game has to make it through three phases of testing that will last two to four weeks.

The vaulting and climbing system is part of the big push to get PUBG out by the end of the year. It appears to be the main reason why Bluehole states it will take two to four weeks and three phases of testing for the game to hit full release.

As previously covered, the implementation of vaulting is extremely complex due to the large number of unique objects in the game players should be able to jump or mount. PC Gamer got an early look the new movement feature and called it “extremely smooth and kinetic” despite it being unfinished.

Other new content to be tested include the long-promised 3D replay system plus the new desert map. Previous images shared of the map show it to be smaller than the current Erangel map but filled with taller buildings in the main city area. The map also comes with some new in-game vehicles that will need to be tested as well.

Bluehole is currently targeting to start the testing at the end of October or in early November with two to four weeks of testing afterward. Assuming the test build is released the week of Monday, October 30, PUBG should get through testing by the time Thanksgiving rolls around or the following week.

It’s not clear at the moment how soon after testing is completed that Bluehole will be ready to launch the 1.0 version of PUBG along with the Xbox One Game Preview release. However, the current timeline points to the final week of November or first week of December as the most likely. The fact the Australian Classification Board has already rated the Xbox One release is also a good sign.

Here is how Bluehole describes the three phases of PUBG testing before release.

1st phase: Focus on testing vaulting & climbing
2nd phase: More testing of vaulting & climbing, test other new content, and features
3rd phase: All new content and features including the desert map

Meanwhile, the last patch before the final testing was deployed to the test servers early this morning. This is only a small patch that fixes the following issues.

Gameplay

• Decreased the Starting Island item spawn levels in order to adjust the item balance on the Northeast side of Erangel

Bug Fixes

• Eliminated the fire animation and effect that occurred in the Starting Airplane when a player was on fire from a molotov cocktail
• Fixed a bug that enabled a character to hold a main weapon and frying pan simultaneously
• Fixed a spectator mode bug of flickering weapon UI icons

[Featured Image by Bluehole]