‘PUBG’ Dated December 12 For Xbox One, Will Have Xbox One X Enhancements

Xbox One gamers finally received the date for when they can begin playing PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Bluehole creative director Brendan Green appeared on an Xbox Mixer livestream from Paris Games Week to share a December launch date along with some other details.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) will launch December 12 in the Xbox Game Preview program for the Xbox One. It will be available in a physical retail version and digitally through the Xbox Store for $29.99. Some retailers already have the game available for pre-order, but it will not be available on the Xbox Store.

Xbox Game Preview is the Early Access-like program used by various other titles, from Elite Dangerous to ARK: Survival Evolved. This will allow the team at Bluehole to make changes to PUBG based on player feedback while still technically in development.

The ability to make changes to the Xbox One version of PUBG is important for Bluehole, as the studio has no previous experience developing a game for consoles. This is part of the reason why the team struck a partnership deal with Microsoft in August to ensure the game launched on the Xbox One this year. In exchange for the console publishing rights, the developer gets technical help from Microsoft to release the game to the console since the publisher already has experts knowledgeable about running Unreal Engine 4 power titles on the console and how to make a shooter feel right with a controller.

Greene confirmed PUBG will launch with the features included in the upcoming PUBG 1.0 release currently being readied for public testing. This includes vaulting, or the ability to climb over objects, and support for Squads (four-player teams) and Duos (two-player teams) game modes.

There will be some Xbox One X enhancements at launch with more to come later. PUBG will support HDR lighting out of the gate while 4K textures will have to wait for Bluehole to finish all the textures in the game.

Similarly, the new desert map planned for the PUBG 1.0 release will not be available immediately on the Xbox One. Bluehole wants to take time to gather feedback on the map from the official PC launch before introducing it to consoles.

There was no mention of what resolution and framerate PUBG will run on the Xbox One or Xbox One X. It is safe to assume that the Xbox One X version will hit 1080p since the textures aren’t ready for 4K yet. However, it is unclear if it will support an unlocked framerate to allow up to 60 fps or will lock the framerate at 30 fps. Meanwhile, it is unknown if the Xbox One version will even reach 1080p.

Microsoft also revealed there will be three limited-edition cosmetic packs for PUBG as standalone purchase separate from the game. The PUBG Warrior Pack, the PUBG Accessory Pack, and the PUBG Tracksuit Pack will be available to purchase on the Xbox Store as Bluehole has no plans to offer in-game loot box purchases while PUBG is in the Game Preview Program.

Finally, the 1.0 PC release of PUBG is still on track for December. Bluehole has two to four weeks of testing planned starting this week, and then the game will exit Steam Early Access sometime in December.

[Featured Image by Bluehole]