PUBG’s battle royale game is about to get a lot more intense – CNET

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Taylor Martin/CNET

Playing a round of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is already an intense, pulse-racing experience — and it’s about to get worse. Or better. Really, it depends on how much you enjoy being stressed out.

Today, the game’s development team gave players a peek at the PUBG 2018 road map — which includes a new, smaller map specifically designed to create more intense, faster paced battle royale experience. Basically, the game will still be a deathmatch between 100 players, each desperate to survive, but now that mass of players will be fighting it out in an arena about half the size of the default map: an small island with just 4 square kilometers of space. There’s also at least one more large, 8×8 map on the way, too.

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PUBG’s next map is going to about half the size as the current in-game island.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds

That’s not all. Developers say they’ll be changing how the game sounds later in the year. Vehicles will have more suspension and skidding noise — and even player movement is going to change based on what kind of gear you’re carrying, which could dramatically impact how easy it is to hide from other players. Not enough? Fine: Firefights are going to get more intense too. The team is working on a new ballistic system that will add limb and vehicle bullet penetration.

In addition to gameplay tweaks, the developers say they’ll be testing achievements, in-game friends lists and squad voice chat — and player emotes will also be hitting the test servers soon.

Those are the big announcements, but this post is by no means exhaustive. Check out the company’s official announcement for a more complete look at the game’s 2018 road map. Either way, it’s looking like a good year to win a chicken dinner.